Picking Up The Pieces
by LittleDuck
Summary: Without Haruhi, the Host Club falls apart. Mori is quieter than ever, Hunny loses his apetite, Kyoya becomes even colder, Hikaru and Kaoru's world closes up again and Tamaki is left abandoned, lost and lonely - untill they meet some new faces.
1. Mazes

**Hello!  
><strong>Welcome to my story, I hope you like it!  
>Just so you know, Yuzuki is my OC. Sometimes I think Haruhi is a little unrealistic, and I don't think I could write her well.<br>Besides, sometimes its good to be a little different!  
>I would love it if you reviewed!<p>

Bisco Hatori owns Ouran  
>I own Yuzuki<p>

* * *

><p><strong>~ M A Z E S ~<strong>

Yuzuki Oshiro had been defeated.

Her exhausted head was resting limply in her hands, which were coated in smudges of blue ink. In great annoyance and determination, she had gripped her pen with unnecessary force, resulting in its shiny blue blood to leak all over her fingers. Page 127 of 'Higher Level Mathematics: Unit Two' was spread out in from of her, engulfing the small, one person desk. The scarce areas that had not been taken up by the huge book were littered with scraps of squared paper that were filled with crossed-out, complicated calculations.

Yuzuki weakly lifted her head and glanced at the clock in desperation, to see with joy that only a few minutes of the school day remained. She groaned as the teacher (whose name had escaped Yuzuki) declared that he would be collecting in their answers to mark in their next lesson. How on earth was she going to work out the questions when she had already seemed to try every solution possible?

The bell rang, interrupting the teacher and he gave up trying to be heard over the commotion of scraping chairs and end-of-lesson chatter, after all, it was him against 25 restless 15 and 16 year olds. Yuzuki bent down to collect her possessions that's places on the desk had been replaced by the mammoth textbook. She gathered her pens and pencil case and shoved them in her new leather schoolbag, along with the book (which made a significant difference to the usual weight she had to carry) and followed the rest of her classmates out the door.

She paused for a moment, standing on her tip toes to look over the heads searching for a familiar route, whilst trying not to get swept away by the flood of blue blazers and yellow dresses that was flowing in all directions. In a usual school, two weeks would be more than enough time to have memorised where all the classrooms were, and find your way around, but at Ouran, where each of the four wings was bigger than a whole normal high school, Yuzuki was still asking for directions to various classrooms and getting lost in endless mazes of corridors.

She sighed before standing up tall and taking a confident step into the corridor, to give an idea to her still stranger schoolmates, that she actually knew where she was going. She racked her brain and mentally shook herself for not being able to remember where the South Courtyard was. She took a right, and then left, then left again followed by one more right, before admitting to herself that she was lost. She stood in an empty corridor, massaging her right shoulder as the pressure inflicted on it due to her heavy schoolbag had began to hurt, and wondered where she should go next. What if she wondered so deep into the school that no one found her – until it was too late and they only found a pile of bones? She laughed to herself at the ridiculous thought, and her desperation to find her way found the extravagant school.

Yuzuki turned around, ready to retrace her steps, but heard another set of footsteps echoing down the corridor, accompanying her. A pretty, blonde girl, wearing a replica of the same yellow dress that Yuzuki was, was gracefully carrying a large of unnecessarily fancy dictionaries, with thick, burgundy leather covers and gold engraved writing. Her smooth blonde hair was tied up by a pink ribbon, into an elegant bun, that to Yuzuki, wouldn't have been out of place under a white veil.

"Excuse me" Yuzuki proclaimed, spur of the moment, as she suddenly decided that she wasn't going to get anywhere without a little bit of direction.

The girl turned to Yuzuki, a light smile on her face.

"Could you tell me how to get to the South Courtyard please?"

"Oh – yes, of course." The blonde girl replied politely, before reciting a speech of directions to Yuzuki, who simply nodded her head and tried to keep up with her.

"Is that okay?" She asked when she had finished.

"Yes, that's great, thanks very much." Yuzuki smiled to show her appreciation, and the blonde girl formally returned the gesture before continuing her delivery of dictionaries.

Yuzuki started walking the opposite way, repeating the long list of directions in her head, and after a few wrong turns and having to retrace her steps, she had eventually found her way to the South Courtyard.

The gentle evening sun shone through the gaps in the crisp golden leaves, welcoming her as she sat on the edge of the large stone fountain in the middle of the courtyard. More leaves were littering the cobbled floor, creating a patchwork carpet of reds, yellows and browns. Stone archways with intricate details carved into them surrounded the courtyard, accompanied by long plant pots that were still bearing the last of the drooping summer flowers.

"Finally! What took you?" A smiling face, with a mop of messy brown hair hanging over the eyes, suddenly appeared at her shoulder. Yuzuki grabbed onto the stone to stop herself from falling backwards into the fountain with surprise.

"If you haven't noticed already, this school is huge" Yuzuki glared back.

The boy straightened up and laughed. "That means you got lost!" Yuzuki continued to glare at him, until she decided she was fed up.

"If all you're going to do is insult me I'm going." She stood up and heaved her bag onto her shoulder and started walking back towards the archways that lead of to various corridors, the paths of which she wasn't sure.

"Oh really? Where are you going to go? You haven't got a clue where you are!" The boy laughed again at his own clever comment.

"Away from you" Yuzuki called over her shoulder.

"Well let's play hide and seek then!" The boy suggested and shrugged his shoulders, a grin still plastered on his face. "That's what I was going to say in the first place before you got all moody, and besides, maybe it'll help you find your bearings!"

Yuzuki turned around and was about to argue back but the boy had already covered his eyes and started counting. She sighed and walked back towards the corridors. Hiding in a room would at least mean getting away from him. She wondered how it was possible for him to always seemed to find away to twist every situation into a game.

No matter how confidently Yuzuki held her head, there was no doubt that the boy was correct. She was lost. She trotted down a corridor, confident to retain her pride, and up the main flight of stairs in the South Wing, carpeted in a velvet brilliant red carpet like trail of thick strawberry jam. Tall intimidating windows loomed over her down what seemed like a never ending corridor, and she felt herself looking down nervously as she walked, feeling over exposed.

Her heartbeat quickened with her footsteps as she heard doors close behind her. How did he know where she was in this huge building? Yuzuki herself didn't even know where she was.

She started to run lightly, trying to land each foot softly and noiselessly, and opened the first, overly decorated pink double doors she got to. Even the door handles had intricate engravings in the polished brass. The catch on the door closed with a soft click and Yuzuki leant against it, catching her breath. The adrenaline flowing through her veins spread a slight smile across her face.

Once her breathing rate had returned to normal, Yuzuki decided to explore her surroundings. Like most rooms after school, it was empty - but it seemed more than that. It wasn't just uninhabited, it was deserted. The beams of light reached through the huge glass windows, and across the entire width of the room, illuminating every speck of dust as it slowly danced mid air. White cotton sheets had been placed over the few pieces of furniture in the room. The pink tiles stretched on and on and it seemed unusual to Yuzuki that such a bright, large room would go unused.

She walked forwards, each step echoing in the vast emptiness. A few smaller doors followed the side wall, and Yuzuki wondered where they went.

She didn't need to wonder long as voices and loud, angry footsteps suddenly sounded from the opposite side of the entrance doors. Yuzuki grabbed the first door handle she saw, and dived in side.


	2. Painting

**Hello Again! :)  
><strong>Hope you liked the first chapter, and thank you for reading!  
>Please tell me what you think!<p>

Bisco Hatori owns Ouran  
>I own Yuzuki<p>

* * *

><p><strong>~ P A I N T I N G ~<strong>

Yuzuki breathed rapidly, her head swirling. In the darkness she could not gather her bearings. She cautiously held out her arms, until her fingers reached a cold, brick wall. She slid her hand along the walk, exploring with her senses, until she reached something loose.

She gasped as something fell out of the darkness and hit her on the head.

A broom.

She was sat in a stuffy old broom cupboard.

She sighed and went to open the door, but stood, well - crouched, as still as she possibly could as footsteps swiftly strode past outside. They were so close she felt the breeze of their passing through the crack under the door. She immediately, automatically held her breath. Surely she would get in trouble for this? Sneaking around classrooms and cleaning cupboards without permission after school?

Her tension was immediately relieved with a gentle, flowing melody. Yuzuki knew she should leave, but the sounds entranced her. Each key was pressed in beautiful synchronized harmony with the rest, like each was a swift brushstroke together painting a masterpiece.

And Yuzuki's soul was the canvas.

Emotions of soft and gentle love coloured her thoughts by the melody, and she felt herself smiling.

With a sudden jolt she returned to earth, as a short repeated _buzz_, gradually increasing in volume began emanating from her school bag that had slipped off her shoulder as she ran into the cupboard. She immediately started rummaging around looking for her phone, the source of the buzzing, before it got so loud that someone – notably the pianist – heard and found her.

And it meant someone was calling her.

She pulled out half the contents of her bag. At least in the dark she would be able to see the phone light up. Why she had to put her phone in her bag in the first place was nonsense. Didn't the school tailors have enough money at the price they charge, for pockets?

She grabbed the phone quickly, her face a mixture of shadows and highlights from the dim electric glow.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Where are you!" a familiar voice shouted.

"I can't tell you! That's cheating!" Yuzuki grinned.

"It's been half an hour! Do you want to go home or what? ...And why are you whispering?"

She had listened to the piano for half an hour?

She had sat in the cupboard for _half an hour? _

Yuzuki found it strange that her first thought was how much dust she must have breathed in

"I'm hiding" She answered. "Where are you?"

"Back at the courtyard" he replied. "Meet you there. Hurry up"

Before Yuzuki could reply, he hung up.

Her stomach churned in realisation of her problematic situation.

She was about to casually walk out of a broom cupboard.

The pianist had entered after her, so they would know she had been there the whole time. What if they were a music teacher? She was absolutely sure they wouldn't accept her excuse of hide and seek. She quickly shoved her belongings back into the bag and tightened one hand on that, and the other on the door handle. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"One... two... three!"

The sudden white light attacked her eyes the second she opened then. But she couldn't dwell on the contrast in conditions she was in now and those of the cupboard she had sat in for half an hour. She kept running towards the door. She couldn't see a piano – so guessed it was behind her. At least that way the pianist wouldn't see her face. The only thing they would be able to identify her with was her yellow dress (indicating that it wasn't a male student who had just burst out of a cleaning cupboard) and the back of her medium-length brown hair.

With another pump of adrenaline and relief her hands clasped round the door handle.

"Hey!"

Yuzuki barely heard the voice through her pounding heartbeat in her ears. She slammed the door shut after her and continued running down the, thankfully empty, corridor. The amount of excitement, adrenaline and fear flowing through her somehow seemed to give her some superhuman power, and she ran, without thinking straight back to the courtyard.

"When I set homework I expect it to be handed in on time. I don't know what your last school was like but here, we take homework seriously!"

Yuzuki almost winced in response the spit being fired in her direction.

"I'm sorry, sensei, but I just don't know where it is!"

"You had better well find it. That book is school property! I expect it and the homework on Friday morning."

Yuzuki sank in her wooden chair. She had looked everywhere for that maths book! She wasn't getting off to a very good start at Ouran. She had tried to keep her head low in the corridors, and had even tied her hair in ponytails, just in case the mystery pianist from the music room recognized her. She didn't want to be in trouble with someone else.

The music room.

Yuzuki had quickly shoved her belongings in her bag in the dark – had it fallen out?

Dare she go back there? She had escaped from being found out once; would she be so lucky not being caught again? Was being caught in the music room worse than not handing in her homework? She had no other choice. She was going back.

Yuzuki kept her eyes fastened to the hands of the golden hands on the similarly elaborate clock face, waiting for the all important moment for school to end and she could return for her maths book. If she was fast enough, maybe she could get there before anyone else, notably mysterious musicians.

The bell rang, and as soon as her teacher dismissed the class, Yuzuki was first across the classroom and out the door, leaving her more graceful and elegant classmates still in the classroom, chatting about their summer holidays in their chalets in the Alps. Yuzuki doubted that they even knew she had gone.

She retraced her steps, round winding corridors, dodging the sudden openings of doors that erupted students. At her old school, Yuzuki would not have been out of place running through the corridor, but noticed that at Ouran, where the building was more like a palace, each student walked calmly and pleasantly over the crimson carpets. She couldn't even hear a bored, teacher's voice behind her, telling her to walk – meaning it must be so uncommon to have an Ouran student tearing down the hallway, and the surprised stares of those she passed, confirmed Yuzuki's thoughts.

She ran straight, keeping her eyes fixed on the pink double doors at the end of the corridor. Reaching the end of the corridor, Yuzuki braked suddenly, and tried to furtively open the doors and slide in.

The first thing she noticed was the music.

Yuzuki couldn't help feeling a little disheartened. After all this effort to get to the room quickly before anyone else, it had all been useless. No matter who was there, Yuzuki desperately needed that book. She composed herself; straightening her dress and flattening her hair. She put on her sweetest face, prepared her politest voice, took a deep breath and walked towards the music.


	3. Mystery

**Next Chapter!  
><strong>Please tell me what you think!  
>Thanks for reading :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>~ M Y S T E R Y ~<strong>

"Excuse me?"

Yuzuki slowly walked towards the pianist. When no response was received, she spoke again, slightly louder.

"Excuse me?"

By now Yuzuki was standing quite close to the piano, still behind the pianist slightly, but close enough to be noticed. Still, there was no reply, there didn't even seem to be any acknowledgement of her presence.

She started to back away slowly. If the musician was annoyed, and Yuzuki was in trouble, at least he hadn't turned around, keeping Yuzuki's appearance a secret to him. It also meant she didn't know his. Even though, it was clear that he was male, by his pristine, sky blue blazer and his blonde hair that reached the bottom of his neck.

His face was a mystery until that moment.

Yuzuki was startled by the sudden abrupt silence. There was no build up to the song finishing; it just seemed to end, as if the pianist himself had no idea that it would. Yet she was even more so, by his next actions. In one swift movement, he turned around on the piano stool to face Yuzuki.

The first thing she noticed was his blue eyes, and the lack of emotion in them.

He began to speak, but whatever Yuzuki expected to hear, it wasn't the words which came, so casually, out of his mouth.

"Have you ever been home alone?"

She expected a telling off, shouting, for disturbing a practice. Not that. So much so, that she was thinking much more about his words, than her own. Her nervous, automatic response was unknown to her.

"Ah – er – w – what"

"Home alone" He said again, almost patronizingly.

"Erm...yeah...I have"

"What do you do?"

Yuzuki wondered how she was having this conversation.

"I don't know...anything"

She knew it was a lame answer, but the confusion in mind overthrew any reasonable consideration of a good reply. The boy took in the answer and paused for a moment thinking about it, and his next question.

"Have you ever been to the Caribbean?"

Now Yuzuki was really confused.

"...No...I haven't..."

"...huh"

The boy stared at her for a moment, before turning back to the piano and continuing to play as if she wasn't there.

Yuzuki stood awkwardly for a moment, wondering whether or not to excuse herself, or if the boy was expecting a continuance in their conversation. The first thing she could think of to break the almost silence between them, was what she had been wondering the whole time.

"Are we even allowed in here?" She asked, and then continued, feeling she needed to explain herself better. "I mean, what if anyone's using this room?"

After all his slow replies, Yuzuki was surprised at his sudden and quite aggressive answer. The words had barely left Yuzuki's lips, when words came from his.

"They aren't"

His sudden change in attitude couldn't help but provoke curiosity in Yuzuki. What did he know about this room? Why did he suddenly get so emotional about it?

"Oh...erm, how do you know"

"It was used for a club, but not anymore" His voice returned to being monotonous and detached.

"What kind of club?" Yuzuki was surprised at herself for having a casual conversation with this stranger.

"A Host Club"

"A Host Club?" Yuzuki was puzzled. She had never heard of a Host Club before.

"A group of boys entertained girls in their spare time"

"Oh... isn't that a little wierd?"

"No" He grew defensive. "Not at all. The girls would come for a friendly chat, or some company, or just to have fun. It was the attractiveness of the boys that initially appealed to them, but what made them keep coming were the good times that they had"

"Oh...okay..." Yuzuki was still a little confused. "Well, what happened to it?"

"It...disbanded" The little emotion he had shown in his voice had disappeared and returned to its usual unemotional state.

"Oh, that's a shame"

The boy stiffened, yet the music he was playing remained calm and flowing, unaffected by the players emotions. "What makes you say that?"

It was surprising to be asked her opinion, from a boy whose name was still unknown to Yuzuki.

"Well, I still don't quite get the idea of a Host Club yet, but if people had a good time...and it made them happy...then I guess it's a bad thing if it's gone.

The boy relaxed and allowed melancholy to invade his now quiet and soft voice.

"It did make people happy"

Yuzuki wondered how he knew all about this club, and why, although he tried to hide it, he was so emotional about it. She plucked up the courage to delve deeper.

"Why did it disband then?"

For the second time, the music abruptly stopped, and the boy spun around again to look at Yuzuki. She noticed the life in his eyes this time, even if it was aggressive.

"The King decided so" He said, matter-of-factly.

"Well he can't have been a very good king then"

The boy raised his eyebrows. "What makes you say that?"

"A king should care for his people, not abandon his country and deprive them of what made them happy."

Yuzuki saw life flicker through his eyes once again, and expected him to be angry, but the emotion left as quickly as it had arrived.

"...huh" He turned back to the piano, playing a similarly calm song as the one before, and leaving Yuzuki standing awkwardly behind him for the second time. Whilst she waited for him to say something, she admired his playing. She knew it must have been him playing, when she was hiding in the broom cupboard. Realising he was not about to engage in conversation, and Yuzuki couldn't think of anything else to say, she excused herself.

"Well...I need to go look for my maths book...bye!"

She scanned the room once more, checking to see if it had slipped out of her bag as she ran, before slipping out the door.

She stood outside for a moment, reflecting on and trying to make sense of the strange conversation she had just had.


	4. Rescue

**Hi :)  
><strong>Hope you like it, please review!  
>Any comments or constructive critisism would be appreciated.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>~ R E S C U E ~<strong>

Filled with dread, Yuzuki stepped into the classroom.

It was Friday morning, and Yuzuki hadn't found her book.

Maybe if she was quiet Hatori-san wouldn't notice her. She kept her down and slid past her pupils into her seat. She sunk down into her seat as far as she could, without falling off, keeping as little attention on her as possible. She kept her eyes fixed on her teacher, as he rummaged through his desk in a typical morning fashion, whilst the students around her settled into their seats.

After a while, Yuzuki began to relax. Surely Hatori-san would have shot her down the first time he saw her, rather than waiting.

But her relief was short-lived.

"Oshiro-kun" His voice was quiet. For some reason, Yuzuki wished he was shouting. That would be over and done with, but his soft tones implied there would be a harsher punishment than shouting. "Stand up, please"

Yuzuki stood, trying to stop herself from trembling slightly. The room around her slowed down and became silent.

"It seems I can't find your homework on my desk, and I asked you to put it here this morning. Would you like to tell me why?"

Yuzuki didn't say anything. Did he want her to answer? Or was it rhetorical and answering would be seen as rude?

"I also can't find the textbook, and I do remember asking for that. Do you remember me asking for it?"

She felt like shouting. _Oh shut up about that stupid textbook. It's not like this school isn't rich enough to buy another. And stop trying to embarrass me in front of everyone_. But all that came out was a whisper.

"Yes, Hatori-san"

"Well then why isn't it here? I know you're not stupid."

A polite knock on the door interrupted her death sentence. _Oh come on_, Yuzuki thought_, just get it over with, and stop stalling_. She knew she was careless, and she hated herself for it. She had lost count of the times she had lost important things, or spilt coffee on the carpet. The last thing she needed was someone else hating her for it.

She was too distracted in her thoughts, than to notice who they were interrupted by. She took one brief glance over at the doorway and froze.

A few strands of blonde hair fell over the blue eyes that were staring at her.

He smiled.

He _smiled. _

Here was the ice king himself, the boy who showed barely any emotion and, to Yuzuki, was blatantly rude, _smiling _at her.

And he was holding a book in his arms.

"Ahh Suoh-kun, what can I help you with?" Her teacher turned to the boy.

_Yeah, thanks for speaking to me that nicely_, Yuzuki thought.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, sensei, but I believe I have something that belongs to one of your students"

"Oh yes? What is it?"

"I was doing homework in the library, and so was one of your pupils, and I accidently took her book"

"And to whom does this book belong?" Hatori-san's polite smile had gradually vanished.

"Yuzuki Oshiro"

_Oh, my gosh._

The boy flashed another grin at Yuzuki, but Yuzuki was too preoccupied looking at her teacher.

"Ah, well. That explains why Oshiro-kun does not have her book with her. But even so, I'm afraid I can't dismiss missing homework"

Yuzuki's heart sank.

"But sensei, that's why I felt I needed to return it right now. I didn't want to get anyone into trouble because of my carelessness, and I found this in the book."

The boy held out a piece of paper and even Yuzuki could see the questions, with answers, that she had been set for homework - and that she hadn't done.

Hatori-san reached out for the paper and Yuzuki saw the anger in his face grow as his eyes flickered along the lines.

"Well – thank you Suoh-kun, I'm sure Oshiro-kun is pleased you found this, you may be excused. Sit down Oshiro-kun"

Yuzuki didn't care that while, Hatori-san had politely dismissed the boy, who had – to him- been in the wrong, and he had simply told her to sit down. She couldn't help but smiling, relief filled her and overflowed out her pores. She was trembling slightly again, but for the opposite reason. She made a vow to herself to thank the boy. No matter how confused she was with his sudden change in attitude, she owed him.

"Hey" Yuzuki leant to the side and whispered at the girl next to her. The girl turned at look at Yuzuki through the lenses of her stylish glasses. "Who was that boy who had my book?"

Hearing this, the girl infront of Yuzuki turned around so quickly Yuzuki almost didn't see it.

"That's Tamaki Suoh!" She said excitedly.

"Okay, do you know where I can find him later?" Yuzuki replied.

The blonde girl in front giggled, but the girl wearing glasses answered.

"He'll be in music room 3"

Yuzuki was about to whisper her thanks, but didn't get chance. The blonde had started talking so fast and excitedly. She was so carried away that she seemed to forget where she was, and was talking far too loud for Hatori-san not to hear.

"Yeah, he's always there. Especially after –"

"Girls at the back!" Hatori-san had stood up and the blonde quickly turned back to her desk. "Do you need more work to keep you concentrating?"

There was no reply, and the room returned to silence. He sat back down.

For the third time, Yuzuki was about to venture into the mysteries of Music Room 3.


	5. Roses

**Hello!  
><strong>I'm very sorry for not updating in a while! I thought this story wasn't doing very well, but when I checked it today I had a few lovely reviews, which really inspired me to keep writing! I really do appreciate all reviews!  
>I was glad to hear that people like Yuzuki! I've tried really hard not to make her a MarySue so please keep telling me what you think of her!<br>Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed! I hope you like this chapter!  
>~Little Duck<p>

_Bisco Hatori owns Ouran._

* * *

><p><strong>~ R O S E S ~<strong>

The first thing she noticed was the smell.

Roses.

She wasn't surprised. Flowers had been professionally arranged in beautiful, hand painted vases on the windowsills around the room and on the tables, with explosions of vibrant shades of crimson blossoming out of them.

Perhaps the first thing she should have noticed was the peculiar scene in the room. Music Room 3 had definitely changed since she had last seen it. Firstly, no matter where she looked, Yuzuki couldn't spot the marvellous grand piano, where she had met the famous Tamaki Suoh. In its place, elegant, baby pink coffee tables had been placed around the room, surrounded by red velvet sofas, rimmed with gold. Delicate, fancy teacups sat on equally delicate sauces on the tables, which were surrounded by chatty, excited girls with occasionally, a splash of blue between them.

Yuzuki was overwhelmed. Sighs and polite giggles were constantly erupting from the swarms of yellow dresses, but before she could comprehend what she was seeing, a dark voice came from behind her shoulder.

"New customer?"

Startled, Yuzuki span around, banging her funny bone on the doorknob. A tall, dark haired boy was standing in front of her, a small black notebook in his hand. His black hair was short, a few strands hanging in front of his glasses. He stood with his weight on one leg, the other bent, and his hand in his blazer pocket. Yuzuki was intimidated. His cold voice sent shivers down her spine, and he loomed over her, his long fingers still clutching his ominous notebook.

"Oh – erm...I don't..."

"Yuzuki!"

She recognized this voice, which came from deep inside the room.

She looked over, sighting a familiar face. Tamaki was walking towards her, making his way through the path of tables. A few girls sent saddened faces his way from the table he was walking away from. He strode right up to her, his confidence radiating with each step he took in his polished leather shoes. He leant down, so his face was only a few inches from hers.

"Nice to see you again" He breathed.

Yuzuki stepped back immediately, surprised at how forward he was. Seeing the expression on her face he stepped back and laughed. The sound was glorious. It seemed impossible how a voice could seem so alive, so bright. He ran a hand through his tousled golden blonde hair, and threw Yuzuki another dazzling smile.

"So, Yuzuki, how can we help you today?" He grinned, placing one hand on his hip and swinging one leg behind the other.

"Erm.." Yuzuki couldn't help but look around at the scene behind them as she spoke. "I came to thank you, senpai".

He seemed surprised. The expression flashed across his face as his blue eyes widened. His confident stance shifted with his mood. He let his hands drop to his side.

"For what?" He asked.

"My homework. I didn't do it, how did you –"

The smile reappeared on his lips.

"That was my way of apologising. I was so rude to you when we last met; I thought I should make it up to you".

"But how did you know?"

"You dropped your book when you ran out. I only realised that it was yours when you mentioned it, so I was going to return it, but then the piece of paper with the homework fell out. It wasn't hard."

The grin remained plastered on his face. Yuzuki was a little stunned at his confidence.

"Well, thank you – a lot. I owe you, seriously, that was really nice of you"

She felt the words stumbling and stalling on her tongue, and was getting angrier at herself for not being able to speak a coherent sentence. The boy, Tamaki, only laughed though.

"It was my pleasure, I hope there's no hard feelings because my rudeness"

His eyes dropped at little, and stared at Yuzuki, reading her face.

"Oh – no, not at all" Yuzuki exclaimed when her mind registered it was her time to speak.

The boy dropped his shoulder and lifted his head back. He sighed in relief and smiled.

"Yuzuki-chan!"

For the second time, a familiar blonde face was smiling at her. Yuzuki smiled and waved back at the girl who sat in front of her in class. Tamaki turned; curious as to who she was waving at.

"Oh! You know Yui?"

Yuzuki made a mental note to remember the name, thankful for his mentioning of it.

"Yeah, she sits in front of me in class".

"Then please, come join us!" Tamaki gestured to the red sofa where Yui was sitting.

"Oh, I don't know – I –" Yuzuki's face reddened. She didn't even know what this place was. She racked her brain for an excuse to get out of the situation. "– I can't, sorry, I need to go and look for my brother" She stepped back, towards the door.

"Oh, well, I'll see you soon!" Tamaki gave a modest wave her way, and Yuzuki returned it as she stepped backwards again.

"Bye Yuzuki-chan!" Yuzuki searched for the high pitched squeal, and found Yui waving franticly, still smiling.

Yuzuki smiled back, and waved; pleased she had made a friend. She turned round quickly; straight into a blue blazer here eyes level with the tight knot of the inky back and violet tie. She stumbled back, looking up into the face of the person she had just run into, but could barely see it because of the black notebook that the boy was immersed in. His glasses peered over the edge of the book, showing his eyes rapidly move over the writing on the page.

Yuzuki apologised profusely, as she stepped towards the door, but the boy did not react. It was as if she wasn't even there. He didn't even flinch when she ran into him; he was like a stone wall. She apologised again, then grabbed the intricate door handle behind her, and walked out, leaving the rose scented, giggling girl, delicate tea cup, fantasy world behind her.


	6. Winter

**Next chapter!** Hope you like it!  
>Because everyone know the Host Club charcters so well, but not Yuzuki, please feel free to review with any questions! If the answers will be revealed later in the story, I won't tell you because I don't want to spoil it! But general questions I'd be happy to answer! :)<br>Bisco Hatori owns Ouran,  
>I own Yuzuki<br>:)

* * *

><p><strong>~ W I N T E R ~<strong>

Yuzuki stared at the scuffed edges of her school shoes as she swung her feet in time to the song that had been on the radio in the morning, and then had stayed in her head all day. She had been waiting for 15 minutes, but didn't mind. He was always late. For the past few weeks, Yuzuki had been waiting for him in the tranquillity of the South Courtyard, accompanied by the gentle, evening sun of autumn. As the seasons changed, the days got shorter and Yuzuki found herself bringing a scarf and hat to school for her evening sits in the courtyard. Golden light no longer shone through the brown leaves, but, artificial lights now littered the bare branches of the trees. Fairy lights had been strung up around the Courtyard to create fake glowing stars scattered throughout the darkness of the short winter days.

Yuzuki watched her breath in front of her, a thick white scarf was wrapped around her neck, and a purple bobble hat insulated her head and ears. She had lost one of her gloves so had to compensate by hiding her hand deep into the pockets of her coat. The school's uniform and appearance standards were more focused on the students' appearance than their well-being, and there was no winter uniform choice. For the boys this was fine. The pale yellow dresses of the girls, though, were only knee length and Yuzuki had suffered through days of permanent Goosebumps covering her legs. The days of torment were over though, as she had been wise enough to buy a pair of thick, cotton white tights, and was also wearing a pair of socks under them. The stone fountain that Yuzuki was sat on was ice cold, and Yuzuki was thankful for the fact that her coat was long enough for her to sit on.

She liked the South Courtyard. She had come across it on her first day, when she was lost. It was quite secluded from the rest of the school, and therefore was seldom occupied. It was a haven of the chaos of that first day, and remained as that every day since.

Yuzuki spent most of her time there thinking. About anything. The day's events, homework she needed to do, boys she found cute, plans she could make with her friends, memories with her friends from her last school, and so on.

She had spent most of the day with Yui and Hina, her best friends, and was thinking about them. Hina had been telling them about the funny antics of her 2 older brothers and her recent violin concert, but Yui had been more concerned about boys. It brought her mind back to the strange boy she had met the past week. Tamaki Suoh. His outlandish and fiery mood changes, his evident confidence and his obscure connection with Music Room 3. An excited, adventurous part of her wanted to go back to the music room, and find out more about him.

"Hey! Yuzuki!"

Her daydreams and waiting was over. She stood up as he ran towards her.

"Riku, let's go".

"Sure, come on"

Yuzuki grabbed her bag and followed her brother out the courtyard. The agreement that had been made when Yuzuki and her brother moved to Ouran was that they would walk home together, especially during the dark winter months. At the time, this seemed fine, but Riku was so involved in extra-curricular activities, that Yuzuki had to wait for him before they went home. She didn't mind. She had the South Courtyard after all.

"What have you done today?" Riku asked his hands in his pockets.

"Nothing interesting" Yuzuki replied, and shrugged. "I got 95% on my science test though"

Riku stopped, and glanced sideways at her. "You cheated"

"I did not!" Yuzuki exclaimed, offended at the accusation. "You saw me studying last night! Besides, thanks for your belief in me".

"Hey, I'm only joking! Well done Yuzuki" Riku put his hand on her head, and ruffled her hair, deliberately messing it up.

"What about you?" She returned the question, whilst combing her hair with her fingers, putting it back into place.

"I had football practice, and then Sato-san wondered if I wanted join the school quiz team".

"Are you going to?"

"I think so. Some of my friends are in it. You made any friends yet?"

"Of course! It's been four weeks, I'm not a complete social reject, you know". Yuzuki grinned at her brother.

"Really?"

She swung her back around and hit her brother playfully in the stomach with it.

"There are two girls a share a lot of classes with" She explained. "Yui and Hina, and I'm getting to know more people in my class."

She debated whether or not to talk about Tamaki, but would she consider him as a friend? She hadn't seen him for weeks, but the last time they spoke he seemed pretty friendly. And he had saved her butt with the whole homework thing. But what about his attitude towards her when he was playing the piano, in a deserted music room 3? Yuzuki couldn't help but be perplexed by him.

"What's up with you?" Riku was giving her a strange look.

"Huh?" Yuzuki left her wondering.

"You've gone quiet"

"Oh," Yuzuki shook her head. "Nothing, sorry".

The glare of the orange street lamps reflected of the frost on the ground, creating the road ahead to turn gold. They turned left, into the park, away, off the pavement. The sparkles of frost on the grass surrounding them were like a reflection of the starry night sky onto the ground. They walked further through the park until they came out a rusty black gate, and continued down the path to their house.

Even the next day, Yuzuki still couldn't get Tamaki, and the whole event in Music Room 3 out of her mind. Although, that was probably because she was in a History lesson, and couldn't help her mind from drifting away.

_He probably doesn't even remember me, _she thought.

Why should he? Maybe he remembered her from their first discussion, and therefore remembered to whom the maths book belonged - and then recognized her face when she thanked her, again at Music Room 3. But it had been two weeks since then, and they hadn't spoken since. He hadn't even acknowledged her presence. She had passed him a few times on the corridors, but had never had the courage to smile at him, or even nod his way. Maybe she would, if he was alone, but he always had such a huge crowd of followers surrounding him, a considerable amount of which were girls. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to like it. A guy like Tamaki encircled by a mob of girls would usually seem like he was being adored, but this seemed to opposite. From Yuzuki's distance, and the squeals of the girls, she couldn't hear Tamaki's words, but by the blushes circling him, she knew it was him complimenting them, and not the other way round. But there was something different about Tamaki. Most boys Yuzuki knew who were very popular with girls made themselves so out of selfishness, for a reputation and popularity. But not Tamaki. When he complimented these girls, he looked them in the eyes. He meant it. He may have been surrounded by girls, but when he spoke to people, it looked as if they were the only ones in the world. He made them feel important, special. It was obvious.

But it wasn't just the girls. Yuzuki also observed Tamaki when he was talking to boys. Again, he looked them in the eye, and seemed to really listen, and really care about what they were saying. He genuinely cared about people. Even when he passed them on the corridors, he made sure to smile and wave, to everyone.

Everyone, except Yuzuki.

It was her own fault, she knew it.

She kept her down, whenever she saw Tamaki. She knew whether he was around, by his mass congregation of friends, even if she didn't see him. He would be lost, right in the middle.

Yuzuki wished she had the confidence to go up to him, and talk. He seemed like a nice guy. And Yuzuki was curious about his sudden mood changes she had experienced. But she couldn't. She was embarrassed, and afraid. He already had so many friends. Would Yuzuki matter to him? He hadn't spoken to her for two weeks, so Yuzuki guessed not.

She liked to think it was her fault they hadn't spoken, for if she had opened herself up, and spoken to him, and he still ignored her, Yuzuki would know he wasn't interested in her. If she made sure not to speak to him, then at least she could kid herself that he unwillingness to approach him, was to blame, and it wasn't because he didn't care about her.

She liked to secretly observe him where possible, and especially watch those he was talking to, and imagined how it must feel to talk to someone, who wholly cares, and understands.

Someone who completely and undoubtedly, would listen.

* * *

><p>I know the Hosts weren't in this chapter, but I wanted to make the story as realistic as possible.<br>I really do appreciate all reviews!


	7. Defeat

**Hope you like it!  
><strong>Please review and let me know what you think!  
>Any thoughts or constructive criticism are always appreciated!<br>Bisco Hatori owns Ouran!

* * *

><p><strong>~ D E F E A T ~<strong>

Yuzuki was scribbling down notes in her French book. Her teacher was speaking at an incredible rate, and Yuzuki's hand couldn't keep up. Everybody else seemed to completely understand the Subjunctive Tense, and was even bored by it. Yuzuki however had never studied French before.

The Language Courses were stranger in Ouran than her last school, where the learning a foreign language was optional. Yuzuki had learnt English for two years, but then stopped when she realised she was terrible at it. At Ouran, each student was required to take at least 2 foreign language subjects, which were English and French, and there was also a choice to learn various different languages, such as German, Spanish and Mandarin. On her application form, Yuzuki tried to be clear that she did _not _want to study any additional foreign languages, the compulsory two were bad enough.

"All right then..."

Yuzuki thankfully dropped her pen as her teacher had finished his lecture.

"I'd now like you to complete the exercises on page 47. If you don't finish, please complete them for homework."

Yuzuki stuck her head into her book, trying to make sense of the jumble of letters on the page in front of her, but was interrupted by her teacher speaking once again.

"Yuzuki." The interruption in her concentration startled her and she sat up suddenly.

"Yes, sensei?"

"Please could you go and get the set of dictionaries from Room L7?

Yuzuki stood, groaning inside. Her seat was in the front corner, next to the door, and she was always chosen to get things. Usually, Yuzuki would like running errands for the teachers, and taking a break from lessons. But French was difficult. She couldn't get her head round it. Also, missing lesson time meant she had to finish it at home.

Even though she was now in a bad temper, Yuzuki couldn't help her mood be lifted by the wide, open spaces of the corridors. The corridors at her last school were too cramped. Lockers on each side and low ceilings created a feeling of claustrophobia, but here, Yuzuki could have all the space she could ever want. The bright winter sun created beams of light through the long window panes, causing everything in its path to sparkle. Yuzuki looked out onto the open grounds below her. The morning frost had not yet melted completely and was like a dusting of icing all over the ground.

Snapping out of her reverie, she noticed she had reached room L7. She knocked on the door, and once permitted to enter, she politely asked the teacher in that room for the dictionaries. The box was pretty heavy, and the teacher considerately asked if Yuzuki would like some help to carry them back, but Yuzuki kindly declined. She could manage. The thanked the teacher, and turned back onto the corridor.

She heard the talking straight away.

It was hushed, and intense. Yuuzki couldn't see who was talking though as the voices were emanating from around the corner.

"You can't do this. It's not fair on the others!" One male voice spoke.

"I don't care. How do you think we feel?"

She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to interrupt the pretty serious conversation by walking past, but if she waited for them to finish they would think she was eavesdropping.

"Listen to me! We all feel like this, so stop being so damn selfish!" The first guy spoke louder this time.

Wait.

Did Yuzuki know that voice?

"We're not doing this anymore! We're fed up of pretending! You can go around acting like everything okay, but not us!" Two more voices spoke alternately.

"We're out!" They said in unison.

Before Yuzuki could decide what to do, two boys charged round the corner

Yuzuki had been so silent that they had no idea she was there, and ran straight into her. In shock she dropped the box of dictionaries, which spilled out onto the floor. The boys didn't stop though. They continued to thunder down the corridor.

Still in shock, Yuzuki bent down to pick up the dictionaries, until a familiar face turned round the corner. Tamaki.

Once again, Yuzuki didn't know what to do. Should she speak to him? Was he too busy? She didn't want to pry.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Let me help you". His intentions were kind, but his voice was flat.

He knelt down and helped her collect the dictionaries back into the box. When they were done, he lent back against the wall, and sighed.

Yuzuki looked at him. His expression was dejected, and his eyes seemed preoccupied as he thought about something else. His arms rested on his knees, as he seemed tired and defeated.

Throughout knowing him, Yuzuki had witnessed Tamaki when he was indifferent, angry, and vivacious, but not this disheartened. It was as if all the life had been dragged out of him, and Yuzuki didn't like it. Tamaki might not have always been happy when she was around, but he had always felt something. His emotions were always in overdrive. But now, he seemed apathetic, depressed, he just didn't care anymore.

"Erm... are you okay?"

Yuzuki kicked herself mentally and not having something better to say. She wished she could say something wise, and inspiring.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you, don't worry about me" He faked an unconvincing smile. He just didn't have the heart to try harder.

He stood up, and held out his hand to Yuzuki, who took it, and stood up.

"Would you like a hand with those?" He gestured to the box of dictionaries.

"Oh, no thanks, I'll manage."

Tamaki paused for a while, looking at the dictionaries.

"Okay then" His voice was barely a whisper.

With those parting words, he turned and walked away through the vast, empty corridor, his hands in his pockets.

And like that, he looked like the loneliest boy in the world

* * *

><p><strong>Writing this chapter was so sad! <strong>:'(  
>But it was interesting to write about the deeper side to Tamaki.<br>Please review! They really do make my day!  
><strong>Thanks very much for reading!<strong>


	8. Puzzle Pieces

**Hello! :)**  
>Hope you like this chapter!<br>I LOVE knowing what you think! Please review!

**Bisco Hatori owns Ouran! **

* * *

><p><strong>~ P U Z Z L E ~ P I E C E S ~<strong>

"Come on, Yuzuki, don't be like this."

Riku complained at his sister as she continued to storm down the corridor, but Yuzuki wasn't listening. He sighed at how futile his attempts were.

"I told you, I'm walking home." Yuzuki snapped out of her silence to once more state her decision to her brother.

"No you're not." He retorted. "Not on your own. It's dark!"

Yuzuki didn't answer. He had made a valid point.

"Listen, I won't be too long." Riku tried to convince her. "Can't you just let me do this?"

"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" Yuzuki stopped suddenly and turned on her heel. Her brother had just informed her that she would have to wait for him after school – again. Riku was a popular boy – a member of the school quiz team, football team, debating society and basketball team, so he was always busy after school - which meant Yuzuki had to wait for him, before they could walk home together.

"Come with me! There are loads of girls there! I bet your friends are there too!"

Yuzuki sighed. She knew she couldn't walk home on her own. It would be pretty stupid. She felt guilty for snapping at her brother. It wasn't his fault. He was being kind, not wanting her to walk home alone at dark. He was just confident and had a lot of good friends. Honestly, Yuzuki was a little jealous. She wanted to be as well-liked as her brother, but knew she never would be. She had some friends, but was just too shy (especially with new people) to be popular.

"I don't know" She said.

"Look, it's just here. Come in and see what you think. If you don't like it you can go."

Yuzuki looked up to where Riku was pointing.

Oh no.

The sign "Music Room 3" loomed above her head.

The only experiences she had in this room could only be described as... unpredictable. Hiding in a broom cupboard and Tamaki's changing moods.

Before she could even think about whether to go in or not, somebody else came out.

His head was down low, his blonde fringe falling over his eyes, which were focused at the floor. His breathing was quite heavy and shaky, and as he shut the pink door behind him, he kept his fist closed on the door handle. It was clenched, tight, and he was trembling. He leant back against the door, looking weak and broken.

Yuzuki glanced at her brother, who was staring at Tamaki, with a similarly puzzled expression on his face as she had. He took two steps forward, his footsteps echoing in the vast corridor. Yuzuki was glad her brother had taken initiative, as Yuzuki did not a clue as what to do. Tamaki obviously didn't know they were there, and Yuzuki felt awkward.

Tamaki looked up, startled, at Riku's footsteps.

He stood up straight, and forced a smile.

"Riku! I was beginning to wonder whether or not you were coming!" He said, beaming at Riku. "I'm sure you'll be a wonderful addition to the club".

Yuzuki was still curious as to what the club was.

"Er – yeah. Are you okay, Tamaki"

"Of course! Come on in!" Tamaki smiled, and on spotting Yuzuki, spoke again. "Yuzuki! You are most welcome to come too!"

"Er – " Yuzki stammered. Tamaki seemed like he had completely forgotten their last interaction. "What – what is it?"

"The club? Don't you know by now?" Tamaki laughed at Yuzuki's blank expression, but it seemed strained. "Why, it's the famous Ouran High School Host Club!"

Suddenly, it came together.

"H-Host Club? You – you mean..." Yuzuki thought about her first ever conversation with Tamaki. "When we first met, and you mentioned it... this was it?"

"Yep!" Tamaki grinned.

"And... so, you entertain girls?" She asked, putting the pieced together in her mind.

"Well...yes. But as I told you last time, it's so much more than that. We give the girls a good time, an escape from anything troubling them, and we're a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a friend to listen to them."

Tamaki's smile, had become gentle and meaningful, and at that moment, Yuzuki admired him. But one more thing was bothering her...

"And you also mentioned the... the King..."

Once again, Tamaki threw his head back and laughed with his hand on his hips.

He leant forward, looking Yuzuki in the eye, and winked. "Guess who."

Yuzuki's fears had been confirmed. She looked down, blushing, thinking of what she had said.

"_He can't have been a very good King then..."_

"Oh.. erm, well... I'm sorry for –"

"Don't worry about it!" He interrupted. "I should thank you really." He straightened, and appeared to be looking out the window as he spoke, as if he didn't want to look her in the eye.

"I was being selfish." His voice was quiet, and intense. "It wasn't fair, on the members of the club, or the girls, to close it. You made me see sense."

He looked back and smiled happily.

"Thank you for that!"

Yuzki smiled back tepidly, not knowing what to do.

"I'm sorry, you must excuse me for a moment – but please do go in!" Tamaki walked between them, and started down the corridor.

Yuzuki took a breath, and some courage.

"But senpai..." He stopped and turned around, smiling. His eyes invited conversation. "...Why did you close the host club then?"

Immediately, his face fell and the light left his eyes. Even his posture seemed to drop, and Yuzuki felt a pang of guilt in her stomach, knowing she should not have brought it up.

"Well..."

He clenched his fists and started shaking again.

"I'm sorry" He whispered before turning and walking at a pretty fast pace down the corridor.

An awkward silence filled the air, before it was broken by Riku.

"Well that was weird. I thought Tamaki was always so happy".

Yuzuki didn't say anything, but just continued to stare down the corridor after Tamaki.

"Well, I got to get in there." Riku continued, indicating towards Music Room 3. "Want to come?"

"N-No thanks" Yuzuki answered. She didn't think she could go in there now, after what she had said to the "King".

Riku shrugged. "Whatever. I'll see you late then."

"Yeah, sure." Yuzuki watched her brother enter Music Room 3 and wondered how girls would want to hang around with him. Sure, Yuzuki loved him, but he was her brother after all.

She didn't know what to do now. She had quite a lot of time to kill. Maybe she would go the South Courtyard and start her History homework. She shook of the paralysis from the shock of Tamaki's swift departure, and began to walk towards the South Courtyard.

She turned the corner, and jumped, when two faces suddenly appeared from skulking out of the shadow, and were glaring straight at her.


	9. Amber

**Hello! Sorry it's been a while.**  
>I've been busy and had writer's block!<br>Anyway, hope you like it!  
>I really really really appreciate reviews so let me know what you think!<br>Thanks!  
><em>~littleduck<em>

_Bisco Hatori owns Ouran_  
><em>Yuzuki is my OC (hope you like her!) <em>

* * *

><p><strong>~ A M B E R ~<br>**

With their arms entwined, they walked in perfect unison. As their faces gradually moved out of the shadows, Yuzuki felt she recognized them from somewhere.

Amber hair fell over their eyes, as they tilted their faces down, making them seem even more sinister. Also, their hair had obviously been previously styled, but was now untidy and had grown far past its intended shape.

Once Yuzuki heard their voices, she immediately knew who they were.

"Well, what was that?"

Their voices were more controlled and quiet than the last time Yuzuki had heard them.

In shock of being approached by them, when she didn't even know their names, Yuzuki didn't reply. What was she supposed to say?

"Hello?" One of them asked.

"Are you stupid or something?" asked the other.

"No. What do you want?" Yuzuki had to say something. She felt uneasy now. The last time she had seen these boys, they had been arguing with Tamaki, and had charged right into her. Then, she had been invisible to them. Now they wanted to chat. Did they even recognize her?

"We couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Tamak-senpai" The one on the left said.

"And we were pretty surprised by what you said" The one on the right finished for him.

Yuzuki looked between them both, trying to discover their differences, but she was having no success.

"You seemed to have spoken to Tamaki-senpai a few times before..."

"And we were curious as to why..."

"Why are you talking to him?"

Yuzuki stepped back, as if the words had physically hit her.

"He's not _friends_ with you."

"Last time you spoke with him, you didn't seem too friendly either." Before Yuzuki had realised what she had said, the words had already left her mouth.

Identical angered expressions appeared on the twins' faces.

"You don't know what that was about."

"You have no right to speak about it!"

"Who do you think you are?"

Anger bubbled inside Yuzuki. She was usually quite shy, and avoided confrontation avidly, but was unable to suppress the fire burning inside her. Why should these twins speak to her like that? They didn't know her; she hadn't done anything against them, to provoke them.

"Why are you so bothered about Tamaki-senpai? I know you're not exactly friends..."

"You don't know anything" One twin spat, spitefully.

An exasperated breath left Yuzuki, and she dropped her shoulders, surrendering. She was getting nowhere. She turned on her heel, and started to hurry down the corridor, but one of the twins interrupted her.

"Hey!" Yuzuki didn't turn around, expecting she would find an ambush of degrading insults aimed at her. But she found herself stopping and waiting to listen to what they said next, oddly curious. It was their hesitations and pauses that provoked the interest in her.

"Just – wait – listen, just –er...well..."

Self doubt and an ability to think before you speak did not seem like qualities the twins possessed. If they were making this much effort to say the right thing, it must be worth listening to.

Yuzuki turned around, to see one twin leaning back against the wall, sulking, and the other standing in front of him, looking at Yuzuki. She guessed he was the one who had been speaking.

He sighed, and reluctantly spoke.

"Just stay away from him."

And before Yuzuki could reply, they walked away. First the one who had been sulking against the wall, and then his brother followed.

Yuzuki was still in a bad mood, but that last comment had sparked something in her. What was going on between Tamaki and the twins, and why should she stay away? She tried to push it out of her mind, not wanting to be nosy, but it remained at the back of her mind.

Throughout the next few days, Yuzuki followed to twins orders. She never saw much of Tamaki anyway, buy she made sure to avoid the 3rd Music Room. She steered clear from the Twins as well, not wanting to provoke them again. This was much harder, as the twins were both first year students like Yuzuki. They didn't share any classes though, thankfully, as they were both A-class students, whereas Yuzuki had her place in class 1-B

And it was for this reason that Yuzuki was incredibly surprised when a familiar face sat down opposite her, and put his head in his hands.

Yuzuki was sitting in the school library, studying for an unnervingly fast-approaching exam. The library at Ouran was well-stocked, and Yuzuki's desk was flooded with books and littered with notes she had scribbled, trying to memorise. She wasn't really concentrating though, as she wasn't able to stop her mind from drifting off, away from the absurdly dull subjects. The excited chatter around her attracted her thoughts which wanted an escape from the books.

But as one of the twins arrived, she was forcefully brought back down to Earth. He sat down in the dark wooden chair opposite her with a thud, as if he hadn't sat down in a year. With his head in his hands, Yuzuki could not see his face, but it didn't matter; she couldn't see any differences between the twins and so wouldn't be able to recognize him, and she didn't even know their names! But his hair was easily recognizable.

She looked at him awkwardly, not knowing what to say, hoping that he would start the conversation. Did he even want to talk? Or had he sat down in the first chair he saw without looking at who was also there?

With one small movement he pushed his hair back, and lifted his head. He looked different to than how Yuzuki had last seen him. Someone must have finally forced him to have his hair cut, so it was in some attempt at a style, but it had still not been brushed, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

Yuzuki opened her mouth wanting to break the silence between them, but she couldn't find any words. Thankfully, the boy relieved her of the need to speak.

"Don't say anything". It was said desperately, not cruelly. He seemed tired, and didn't want to hear anything else.

Yuzuki did as she was told, and waited politely for him to say something else.

He sighed before continuing. "Listen Yuzuki" She wondered how he knew her name. "I wanted to apologise".

She did not expect that.

"We were rude to you. It wasn't your fault... but you don't understand...I can't explain."

Yuzuki still didn't know what to say. He had confused her even more, but she still accepted her apology.

"That's okay...erm... where's your brother?"

"Hikaru is – er ... busy. I'm Kaoru." She doubted his story about Hikaru, but decided not to press it. "So you haven't been talking to Tamaki-senpai have you?"

"No, I thought it best not to..."

Kaoru looked relieved, as if he was expecting a different answer.

"Thanks, I'm sorry, it's not personal. I mean, it's not like he doesn't want to talk to you or anything".

"Yuzuki couldn't help herself. "Then why?"

"It's hard to explain. A lot has happened, and – and I just don't want it to happen again"

Despair covered his face, and Yuzuki felt bad for talking about it, but she was desperate to know.

"Ah, okay." She said kindly, trying to be understanding. "If you don't mind, what happened?"

"A friend" he almost whispered. "A very good friend, but she's gone now".

"I see" said Yuzuki gently. "And you want to stop Tamaki-senpai from getting hurt again?"

Kaoru nodded, and for a moment Yuzuki felt sorry for him, as sitting in front of her was not the rude, arrogant boy she had last seen, but was a desperate, depressed, lonely twin, who just wanted to look after his friend.

"I'm sorry about Hikaru too. He...gets a bit more emotional than me, angrier. He can't believe what's happened. It's not his fault. I just don't know what to say to him that'll make it ok..."

Yuzuki got the feeling that Kaoru was just about ready to let go, and let out everything he was feeling, but he stopped himself.

"Anyway, I - er – just wanted to say sorry. So, yeah, sorry."

Although with so many more questions to ask him, Yuzuki let him walk away, still mystified by what Hikaru and Kaoru were feeling. There was obviously a lot more depth to that story.

* * *

><p>I hope I the twins justice! They are wonderful characters!<br>Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think! Thanks!


	10. Fourteen

**Hiya!  
><strong>So here is Chapter 10, strangely called 14. Why is that? You'll find out!  
>I got some nice reviews for the last chapter, so thank you for them! Its good to know people like exploring the other side of the hosts!<br>I've got some good ideas for this story, so please stay with me!  
>Please review, I love knowing what you like, don't like and how I could improve! I want to make this a story everyone likes.<br>Thank you! :)

* * *

><p><strong>~ F O U R T E E N ~<strong>

The twins' story remained in Yuzuki's head for the next week. Every time it managed to be dislodged by some other important piece of information, such as schoolwork, she would later pass Tamaki, or one of the twins on the corridor and it would all come rushing back. She hoped something would cause her involvement to spark again. She knew it was pretty nosey of her, but she couldn't deny it – and couldn't help it. There was so much behind Tamaki, his strange change of moods; and Hikaru and Kaoru were obviously pretty affected too. Yuzuki wasn't prepared to go snooping though. She was curious, but understood that it wasn't any of her business.

But something did happen to open the door again, although it was certainly not what Yuzuki had expected.

It began with one word in the library after school (she had been spending more and more time there recently, as the heavy workload began to overwhelm her), although at that time, Yuzuki had no idea what it would lead to.

"Fourteen".

Yuzuki looked up from her maths book, taking a break from looking at the numbers on the page she had been staring at for the last 15 minutes, to see who had spoken. As her eyes travelled up his body (quite a long distance, as this boy was tall) they eventually met the gaze of a dark haired, dark eyed, stern faced boy. He glanced at the book again quickly, and then promptly turned around and started to walk away.

"Why?" Yuzuki blurted out, puzzled. She couldn't see how the number on her page could possibly come together somehow to make fourteen.

The boy turned around, and Yuzuki had a flash of recognition at his expression, but couldn't quite place it. He sighed and raised his eyebrows. "I'm not going to discuss it with you. I've got other places to be." Once again, he turned to walk away.

"But it doesn't make sense!" She called out, which seemed to get his attention.

"Of course it makes sense! It's maths! It's logical! Just because your head can't figure it out, it doesn't mean it's wrong!"

Yuzuki was stunned and a little stung at his harsh words, but brushed them off. What did his opinion of her matter? She didn't even know him.

Or did she? The nagging feeling of déjà vu, and that she had seen him before, returned to her.

"Then why is it fourteen?"

The boy sighed again, and came closer, muttering the words "I don't know why I'm bothering" under his breath. He pointed at the calculation on the page and proceeded to explain, in perfect detail why the answer was, indeed, fourteen. He clarified the answer so fluently and effortlessly, that it might have been simple maths to him. Suddenly it made sense to Yuzuki. The numbers rearranged themselves in her head to make the equation she needed, and one she was able to comprehend.

"Oh" she whispered. Then, "Oh!" She couldn't help it; it was like a reflex response to the light bulb that had just been switched on inside her head.

And again, another reflex response to something else she had just realised.

"You're from the host club, aren't you?" She jumped a little in her seat, excited at the fact that she had finally become aware of who had just helped her decipher the calculation.

His gaze switched from the maths book, to Yuzuki. He looked her up and down, causing Yuzuki squirm uncomfortably a little.

"It's common knowledge..." He paused. "Although I don't recall ever seeing you there."

"I've only been once. I went to talk to Tamaki-senpai – and I walked into you on my way out..." Yuzuki looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry about that – I – er-"

"When was this?" The tall boy interrupted.

"Er... I can't remember... I while ago, I think."

"What we're talking to Tamaki about?"

Yuzuki was confused, which triggered a spark of curiosity to be ignited inside her.

"Why does it matter?"

"Just answer the question". He snapped. His sharp tongue had returned.

Yuzuki mentally scolded herself for being nosy. Maybe she had crossed the line, slightly. "I can't remember... oh – he'd found my maths book... _this _maths book, in fact". She gestured at the book spread out on the desk in front of her. She had made sure to be permanently aware of its whereabouts, remembering that horrible twisting inside her stomach when she had lost it. But the boy had stopped listening. Yuzuki's attention was drawn to his silence and she glanced up to him and saw his face staring off, his mind clearly focused on something else.

"What's up?" She asked, slowly.

He returned to earth. "Nothing. Please excuse me." He stood up straight, lifted his head slightly and gently placed one hand in his pocket, and the other clutched around his notepad. With a deep breath, he began to walk away.

"Hey – wait!" Yuzuki stood up quickly, almost knocking over the chair behind her.

He didn't fully turn round, but twisted his head to momentarily to listen to what she had to say, as if he was undecided whether it was something he was actually interested in.

Yuzuki knew this was her only chance to keep talking to him. She racked her mind for something interesting and thought provoking to say, to intrigue him and keep his attention.

"Those twins... Hikaru and Kaoru... they're not in the club any more are they?"

"I thought that was common knowledge too" He sighed. "Have you been living under a rock or something?"

Yuzuki stared blankly at him, waiting for a real explanation.

"No, they aren't. Is that all you wanted?"

"Why not?"

The boy seemed between actions. Tell this girl he didn't even know all about the inside drama of the host club, or just let it go. Who was this girl to him? She wasn't even a regular customer. She didn't bring in income.

He raised his eyebrows. "And why should I tell you?" He began to walk away.

"Because I know about the girl" She whispered, and he froze.

He turned round suddenly, and strode towards her aggressively.

"What girl?" he hissed, violently.

Yuzuki had not expected such an explosive reaction.

"Your friend"

"I don't know what you're talking about". He started to turn away.

"Yes, you do" replied Yuzuki calmly.

"Wha- don't contradict me" he spluttered angrily.

"It's obvious, by the way you reacted. And Kaoru mentioned her." Yuzuki was quite surprised at her own confidence.

"What do you know?"

"Only that she was you're friend. And now she's gone".

"That's right."

"And why does that cause the twins to leave the Host Club?"

The boy had obvious given up trying to hide.

"They – It's not the same without her."

"How do you mean?" Yuzuki tried to keep her voice soft and sympathetic. After starting a new school, she knew what it was like to lose friends.

"She made a difference to their lives. They were heartbroken when she left." He hesitated, and Yuzuki waited. She knew there was more he wanted to say. "We all were".

"Who? All the Host Club?"

"Yeah"

"Sorry, but, I don't know them all".

"Tamaki, me, Hikaru and Kaoru; and 2 3rd years".

"Ah, and she was important to you all?"

"Yeah"

They sat in awkward silence for a moment, until Yuzuki decided it needed to be broken.

"I'm Yuzuki, by the way." She said the first thing that came into her hair, realising they had not been introduced to each other. "First year" She added.

The boy had been staring down at the desk, and didn't look up to answer.

"Kyoya Ootori. 2-A".

Silence.

He rose.

"As I said before, I've got places to be".

Yuzuki watched him walk away.

* * *

><p><strong>The Maths book!<strong>  
>Why does it keep cropping up in Yuzuki's life? I can't help it, it just appears. Maybe because its an iconic, symbolic object about her and Tamaki. Or mabye she's just not very good at maths...<p> 


	11. Cake

**Hello all!**  
><em>I got some good constructive criticism and have tried hard to act on it.<em>  
><em>Please let me know if there is anything more I could change or do better - or whatever you think! I love to know!<em>  
><em>Thank you! :)<em>

_Bisco Hatori owns Ouran,_  
><em>Yuzuki and Riku are my OCs. (Hope you like them!)<em>

* * *

><p><strong>~ C A K E ~<br>**

Yuzuki tried to return to concentrating on maths. But she failed.

Who was this girl, why was she so important and why did Kyoya-senpai react so fiercely when she mentioned her? She wanted to ask Yui; she somehow seemed to be aware of other people's gossip. But she realised that the boys she had spoken to put quite a lot of trust in her, and she couldn't betray that by spreading what she had told them. Besides, she didn't want to be a gossip.

Half an hour later, she was still chewing her pen and fiddling with the corner of the page in her book, but was interrupted by a new presence around her.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Riku asked.

Yuzuki looked up at him, bored, as he threw his bag on a chair. It made a loud thump, but not as loud as the rest of the library. Even though school had finished, a lot of people still liked to hang around in the library.

"Maths" She sighed, shutting the book. "You've been at the Host Club?"

"Yeah"

A thought sparked in Yuzuki's mind.

"Hold on – was Kyoya-senpai there?"

"Kyoya?" Riku seemed surprised. "Yeah – he was late though, why? I didn't know you were friends."

"We're not. He just came past here, and helped me with this." She showed him the book. "That's probably why he was late".

"Yeah, okay". Riku had lost interest. He was now more preoccupied with his tie. He was pulling it down a little and slackening it.

"Anyway, club's finished for today, let's go home. You got your coat?" He asked.

Yuzuki pulled her coat off the back of her chair and wrapped up. He pulled on a jacket and together they walked out.

On the way home, it dawn on Yuzuki that she did know who to talk to about the host club – Riku! He knew the hosts better than she did!

"Hey – Riku, those twins have left the Host Club haven't they?" She tried to sound casual.

"Yeah, they had an argument with Tamaki or something. But I don't mind. They always seemed a little mean if you ask me."

"Yeah... what was the argument about?"

"I'm not sure. It all happened before we came. Something about a girl. Tamaki's been acting pretty weird since it though."

"Really? How?"

"It's strange. Although he seems happy, there's something that's making him not. It's like he wants to forget, but can't".

Yuzuki nodded in understanding, not being able to find the right words.

"I'm a little worried about him actually". Riku added.

Yuzuki looked at him startled.

"Why?"

"I don't know... sometimes, when he thinks you're not looking, he just looks really sad".

They walked in silence, as Yuzkuki processed this information. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she hadn't realised they had reached their house.

It wasn't huge, her house. It was quite big though. Not as big as Yui's. Yuzuki had been to her house once, and was stunned by its vast enormity. It seemed to go on forever. Still, Yuzuki's house was like Goldilocks. It wasn't too big, wasn't too small. It was in a nice neighbourhood too. Yuzuki felt lucky. Since her dad got promoted to work as Head of Medicine at a private hospital, they were able to afford a bigger house – and even send Yuzuki and Riku to Ouran Acadamy! Of course they weren't as rich as some of the other pupils, whose parents owned million-dollar companies, but the fact that they could afford the uniform (no matter how sickening the dresses were) was an achievement in itself. Her mother also earned quite a lot, as an advisor for an international company.

The house was a strange, but fitting, combination of brick and stone, and its layout was similar to the houses down the rest of the street. A large kitchen, with an island in the middle, opened out into the dining room. There was also an even larger living room, a study, and spacious, light conservatory. Upstairs were 3 bedrooms; Riku's, Yuzuki's, and their parents; as well as two guest rooms, a large bathroom and music room. The music room was filled with old records and CD's, belonging to her father, pilled high. In a corner, sat an intimidating, huge hi-fi system, accompanied by two guitars which hung on the wall - one a country style acoustic, and the other, a vintage electric. Riku had guitar lessons, and preferred to play the electric. Their father was always lecturing him on the joys of classical guitar, and was constantly playing to try and inspire him to play a little softer. He never succeeded.

Their father was at work, when Yuzuki and Riku entered, and they could hear their mother's voice emanating from the study. She was using that formal tone of voice people use when talking to someone important, and Yuzuki had already guessed she was on the phone to someone from the company she worked for.

As usual, Riku had gone straight to the fridge. Yuzuki put down her bag on the island in the middle of the kitchen and poured herself a drink.

"I wonder what the other hosts think – about Tamaki" she added, noticing Riku's perplexed expression.

He swallowed his mouthful of cheesecake before answering. "Dunno, from what some of the girls have told me, they've all been acting a little odd".

"How?"

"Well, you know about Tamaki, and the twins seem strange – they can be pretty spiteful when they want to be, and sometimes seem detached from everyone else – but they want to be. Kyoya can also be mean. He's always got his head in that notebook, and doesn't seem interested in anything – or anybody else. Honey-senpai is really quiet, and apparently that's not like him at all. I don't know Mori-senpai very well – although apparently he's a gentleman usually, but now he's a little colder."

"And it's all about that girl" Yuzuki muttered.

After finishing her homework and watching some TV Yuzuki went to sleep, dreaming about copper hair, blue eyes, black notebooks, and maths.

The next day began the next chapter in Yuzuki's unravelling of the Host Club's mysterious tale.

"You're Yuzuki-chan, aren't you?"

Yuzuki looked away from her conversation with Yui and Hina - and then looked down, as she had turned to face thin air. A little blonde boy was staring up at her with big, brown eyes.

"Yeah" She replied, a little stunned.

"Will you be able to do me a favour?"

At that moment, they were interrupted.

"Hi, Honey-senpai!" Yui waved at him from behind her.

"Hello Yui-chan!" He said.

"Eaten any good cake recently?" Yui asked. Yuzuki was surprised at the uncommon question.

Honey's smile was lukewarm. "Not recently, no". He turned back to Yuzuki.

"I need you to speak to Hikaru-chan"

Yuzuki responded with wide eyes. "Why?"

"I spoke to Kao-chan, and he wants you to. He says you were nice. And he wants Hika-chan to apologise".

"Oh. Okay." Yuzuki was less than enthusiastic at the request. She didn't really like Hikaru after their last interaction.

"He's really upset". He lowered his voice. "It would be nice if you could cheer him up". He smiled weakly again before turning away.

"Hey – but - " He glanced back. "I don't know him very well. If you're his friend maybe you'll have more chance cheering him up".

Honey hesitated. "We've all tried". He sighed. "He'll be outside, near the pond, after school".

Honey walked away, dragging a little pink bunny across the floor behind him.

* * *

><p><em>I hoped to give a little bit of background on Yuzuki and Riku. I'll do some more in upcoming chapter if people want to know more about her!<em>  
><em>I know I've been leaving you on some cliffhangers for a while, but I promise you'll find out more in the next few chapters! <em>  
><em>Now it's been built up, it'll get more exciting, so please stay with me! I know it's taken a while but I really wanted to make it realistic! Sorry if you've been impatient.<br>**Thanks for reading! :)**_


	12. Spring

**_Hope you like this chapter!_**  
><em>Please let me know what you think!<em>

* * *

><p><strong>~ S P R I N G ~<strong>

At the end of the day, Yuzuki was torn. She didn't want to go and see Hikaru, she was quite sure he'd be spiteful again, but she had made a promise to Honey, who seemed sweet – and desperate for a bit of help.

But after finding out so much about the Host Club, she felt she owed it to them, to help them, and that's why she was outside, beginning to walk towards the pond.

Spring was slowly erupting, and flowers were starting to bloom everywhere, little pink blossoms soared like feathers in the crisp blue sky, being carried along by a soft breeze. Lilly pads in the pond were starting to form buds; little pieces of white were poking out of the green, like a miniature version of a snow topped mountain. The pond was large but peaceful, with only a few other small groups of pupils calmly chatting amongst themselves. Yuzuki glanced around, studying those in blue blazers, but none of them were the boy she was looking for. She impatiently sighed and sat down on the edge of the pond, waiting and wondering about what he had to say, and what she could say back.

She had imagined the various different possibilities of conversations between them, when the sound of footsteps accompanied that of the soft flow of water.

Hikaru was walking towards the pond, coming from the main building. His hands were in his pockets, and his nose in the air. He seemed to be looking down on everything else, and was in his own, better world.

He hesitated slightly, when he saw Yuzuki, and then started to walk in a different direction. Yuzuki waited until he had sat down around the other side of the pond. She wanted to leave – he obviously didn't want to speak with her, but with great reluctance she walked round and sat down next to him, being quite surprised the he didn't immediately get up and leave.

"Hey" she feebly tried to start a conversation, whilst Hikaru was pulling a set of headphones out of his bag.

"What do you want? Were not friends, you know".

There it was. The malicious comment she had been expecting. Hikaru certainly wasn't subtle.

"I know" Said Yuzuki, and she did. But she didn't mind, she didn't really want to be friends with him anyway. "I just wanted to talk".

"Hurry up and say what you want, then go". He was scrolling on his iPod, searching for a song.

"_Fine_,_" _thought Yuzuki _"if you're going to be blunt, then so will I". _

"Why did you leave the Host Club?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because you're hurting the people around you".

Yuzuki saw a brief glimpse of pain flicker through his eyes.

"Everyone has asked me that. Why should I tell you?"

"You don't have to. I just wanted to help the others".

"Which others?"

"Honey-senpai... Kaoru-kun".

Hkaru rolled his eyes. Yuzuki lost her temper with him.

"Do you even care about them, at all?" She raised her voice and Hikaru actually looked at her to speak.

"Why should I?"

"Because they care about you!" She thought about Honey, telling her they had all tried to cheer him up.

Hikaru looked at the floor.

"I don't like you" He said, after a period of silence.

"I don't like you, either".

For a moment everything was still.

"But I know you do care about the others. When we first met, you told me you didn't want me to hang around with Tamaki. You wanted to protect him".

Hikaru sighed before replying.

"Yes. And that's why I don't like you. I don't want you to hurt him, or any of the other Hosts".

"But how could I possibly hurt them?"

"The same way she did".

Yuzuki paused in shock.

"That girl?" She asked slowly, not wanting to trigger a fiery response like Kyoya's.

"Yes. Haruhi".

"Why did she hurt you?"

"She was our friend. She connected with each of us, especially Tamaki, and me and Hikaru. She managed to open new doors for Tamaki, new friendships and new ideas. And with me and Hikaru, we were both trapped in our own, isolated little world, and she broke in. She could tell me and Hikaru apart – it was as if she gave us our own identities, and set us free from being twins. I could be myself around her".

Yuzuki had no idea of the impact that Haruhi had caused on them.

"And one day, she came into school with some news. It was quite funny at first. She was a scholarship student, you see. She didn't have that much money – but then one day she did. She had won a lot, some lottery or game or something. At first, we thought it was great; she and her dad deserved it. But then she told us something else. She said she was moving. With the money, they could afford a villa somewhere else. And so off they went, half way around the world. The Caribbean, I think. We didn't know what to do. She had given us all so much, and then suddenly taken it all away. She didn't want to hurt us, of course, and she said many goodbyes, but she still left. And we were suddenly alone. "

Hikaru's voice had descended slowly into less than a whisper. He hung his head, and his amber hair covered his eyes. Yuzuki didn't know what to say – so she didn't say anything.

"And that's why I didn't want you to be friends with us. I was afraid you'd do the same."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't play the lottery".

Hikaru smiled a little, and lifted his head. He seemed a completely different person that the one Yuzuki had sat down with.

"What about the Host Club?" She asked.

"Tamaki closed it when she left. It wasn't the same without her. But then after a while, he re-opened it, because of something you said. All the girls were thrilled, of course, but me and Hikaru didn't like it. I didn't want to pretend everything was the same, and that everything was alright – because it wasn't, so we left".

Yuzuki nodded in response.

"Tamaki is torn up about it." Hikaru sighed, his expression filled with guilt. "The Host Club was his whole friendship, his whole family, and now it's slowly dissolving away".

"Listen." Yuzuki raised a voice a little, hoping to sound confident and wise. "Why don't you go back to the club? I know it will be hard for you to get used to it without Haruhi, but if you're all upset about it, it's better to be together. All of you will heal quicker if you're with your friends".

Hikaru started to open his mouth to protest, but then closed it. There was logic in what she was saying. He sat in silence for a moment, weighing up his options, and during the silence, Yuzuki thought about how slowly, he had let down his defences to reveal his broken self.

"All right" he said finally. "There's no point sitting around feeling depressed all day".

"Yeah, exactly". Yuzuki stood up, enthusiastically. "Let's go now".

Hikaru looked up at her in shock. "Now?"

"No time like the present!" She encouraged him, and he stood.

Together, they began to walk towards the main building, through the falling rain of cherry blossoms.


	13. Returned

**I'm back!  
><strong>I'm sorry it's been a while, i've been pretty busy with school!  
>Anyway, let me know what you think!<br>Enjoy!

_Bisco Hatori owns Ouran  
><em>_Yuzuki and Riku are my OCs  
><em>:)

* * *

><p><strong>~ R E T U R N E D ~<strong>

Yuzuki wanted to say something to fill the awkward silence between them, but Hikaru seemed not to care. He walked slowly, with his hands in his pockets and dragging his feet, and some irrational part of Yuzuki was worried he would scuff his shiny black, polished leather shoes. She could imagine how expensive they would be. As they eventually reached the 3rd music room, Yuzuki reached out to open the door, but stopped when she realised no one was beside her. Hearing a distressed sigh, she turned around, to see Hikaru hanging his head. He looked up slowly, with a pained expression on his face.

"It'll be ok" Yuzuki said steadily, placing a hand on his shoulder. She was unsure what he wanted to hear right now.

"You don't know that".

"They're your friends, Hikaru, and they're going through the same thing. They'll understand how you feel".

"They won't listen. I've been acting like..." He struggled to find words.

"An idiot? Yes. You have been, but they'll forgive you".

"Doubt it." Hikaru shrugged. He seemed only a moment away from turning around and giving up.

"They'll respect you for apologising. I mean, they know how hard it is"

"But they've been dealing with it better than me"

"You don't know that. They may seem fine, but they may be struggling inside. They need their friend, Hikaru".

That seemed the make him think.

"Okay, but what do I say?"

"How you feel. Say sorry". Yuzuki was beginning to feel a little clueless. She had never had a desire to become a guidance counsellor, and had no natural talent for it.

Hikaru sighed.

"Listen, they get it. They are all having a tough time too. You don't need to say much".

Again, Hikaru paused to consider what Yuzuki had just said, and she was pleased for the break.

"Okay" Hikaru lifted his head, and focused on the door ahead of him.

"You ready?"

He nodded, and Yuzuki took the lead, opening the door. She walked in slowly, making sure she wasn't interrupting anything, although, as she was with one of the hosts surely she was welcome. Even so, she didn't want to be rude. She wasn't exactly a regular customer.

There were only a few girls in the room, the host club was finishing up for the day, but no heads looked up when she entered. However, when the girls and other hosts, saw a flash of red hair out the corners of their eye, it was a different story. There were a few small gasps. Obviously the girls were aware of what had happened. Yuzuki saw Kaoru's face first. His expression stood out. He was sitting with two girls, who Yuzuki noticed, were getting up to leave. Being in his depressed mood, he obviously wasn't very good company. Yuzuki have Hikaru a gentle and encouraging shove in the back. He stepped forward.

"I would like -" His voice broke. He sighed and cleared his throat. "I wanted to speak to all of you. I know I don't deserve it, but please, just, listen... I'm sorry. I know how I have been acting, and how I have been treating you, and it's not fair. You did nothing wrong. So...yeah. I mean, to everyone who comes here, and to the hosts, I'm sorry for abandoning you. I guess it was pretty selfish... So... I guess what I'm trying to say is...will you have me back?"

Tamaki was the first to react. Grinning, he walked towards Hikaru, and held out his hand. As Hikaru shook it, Tamaki squeezed. "Welcome back, host".

With that invitation, girls got up and continued the welcome and expressed their forgiveness. Hikaru could not hide his delight. Yuzuki leant against the wall, smiling as she watched the scene, but as Tamaki stepped out of the circle of girls surrounding Hikaru, she noticed his mask slip for a moment. Just for that one second, he looked tired.

The crowd of girls began to disperse as Hikaru started to walk towards the other side of the room. Eventually, just the hosts, and Yuzuki, were left in the room.

"Finally saw sense?" Kaoru asked.

"With some help." He replied, and then the smile dropped from his face. "Sorry Kaoru, you were right. You always are".

"Glad you've finally realised" Kaoru laughed, and Hikaru joined in.

"Hika-chan!" Honey ran up to them, and eventually all the hosts, except Riku were surrounded them, chatting. The conversation was strained and awkward at first, but gradually, it became natural, and they were just a group of friends again.

Riku appeared next to Yuzuki.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"Gave him some advice" Yuzuki shrugged, expecting some mockery in return from her brother. Instead, he paused before saying "must have been some pretty good advice".

With that parting sentence, he left to join the fun conversation.

Feeling a little out of place, Yuzuki turned to leave. She was halfway through the door, when someone called her name. She turned to look, and saw Tamaki rushing over to her.

"You can't leave yet! We need to have a 'welcome home' party!"

Yuzuki found herself grinning at his childishness.

"Am I invited?" She teased.

"Of course! You made the prodigal son return home!"

Yuzuki wanted to laugh, but there was one thing stopping her.

"Tamaki-senpai?" He looked right into her eyes as she spoke. "Are you all right?"

In shock, he lost his defence, and Yuzuki saw a flash of his pain.

"Why, yes, of course! My son has returned!" He wanted to go back to the 'party', but Yuzuki wasn't finished.

"Senpai, I mean..." What did she mean? "It's just, you seem..."

He put a hand on her shoulder and bent down slightly to her height.

"Thank you for your concern, Yuzuki, I'm touched" He winked, sweetly. "But honestly, I'm fine".

Yuzuki wasn't convinced, but dropped the topic.

"Hey! Yuzuki!" Kaoru called out to her, and Tamaki put a hand on her back and steered her to the circle of people. "Thanks" he grinned, "for bringing him back".

Yuzuki felt embarrassed. "You're welcome". She glanced over at Kyoya, who sensed it, and looked back. She smiled, tepidly, unsure of what to do at their last meeting. He nodded, and turned back to talking with Tamaki, although the conversation seemed to be one-way. Tamaki seemed to be doing most of the talking, and quite animatedly.

So the Host Club had closed, because of Haruhi, re-opened, because of Tamaki, broke down, because of Hikaru and Kaoru, and was fixed, because of Yuzuki.

Somehow though, Yuzuki knew it didn't end there.


	14. Changes

_**Hey all! Long time no see!**_  
><em>Sorry! I have been really busy with school work! After all that stress, I found writing this chapter quite calming. It was great to write, and I hope you enjoy reading it too! <em>  
><em>But part of this was hard to write... my "m" key is broken! Every time I wan't to type it, I have to go on the character map and copy it, then press Ctrl-V every time I need the letter. Urgh. Hope I can fix it soon!<em>

_Bisco Hatori owns Ouran._  
><em>Yuzuki and Riku are OCs. Hope you like them!<em>

* * *

><p><strong>~ C H A N G E S ~<strong>

Yuzuki knew she had been dragged into the captivating and extraordinary world of the Host Club, and was no longer a temporary visitor, but a permanent resident. She would even go as far to call them her friends. Although they remained in their own friendship groups (Yuzuki was still best friends with Yui and Hina, and the twins had their own friends, as well as each other), Yuzuki received a smile from both of them when they passed on the corridor, and she would return the gesture. She even found they were in her science class. She hadn't noticed before as they didn't really know each other and they were pretty quiet. Now, they were must more vibrant in lessons, and occasionally worked together, when they had to partner up to do experiments. Technically, the definition was "partner up", but their teacher didn't mind them being in a group of 3. Hikaru of Kaoru sort of counted as one person anyway.

Hunny was always talkative, and made sure to stop and chat to Yuzuki when he saw her. He would talk about everything, usually quite fast, and at the end of their conversation he would always invite Yuzuki to the Host Club to accompany him and eat cake. This also extended Yuzuki's relationship with Mori. As they were never seen apart, Yuzuki would always get a "Hi" or "Hey" from Mori, which she admitted wasn't much, but was a start.

And of course, Tamaki was always excited to see her. (Yuzuki didn't take this as a compliment however, as he was happy to see everyone). It was always "Yuzuki! How are you?" accompanied by a big smile. And likewise, she was always happy to see him. His happiness and view on life seemed to lift her spirits (which was always helpful after a long day of school). Although there was always that nagging feeling in her stomach reminding her that something was wrong. The problem wasn't quite fixed.

A routine had evolved at school for Yuzuki. After waiting in the South Courtyard whilst the host club was on (unless it was too cold and she migrated inside to the library) and when it was finished, she would go to music room 3 and wait for Riku.

The last girls were leaving when Yuzuki arrived one day. She dumped her bag in the corner, and waved at the hosts.

"Hey" The twins greeted her in unison.

"Busy?" She asked, looking around. There was quite a large number of empty tea cups scattered around the room.

"Yeah, quite." One of them shrugged.

"But we like the attention" The other grinned, and Yuzuki guessed it was Hikaru. "Want to help clear up?"

Yuzuki lifted up a tea tray, and started walking to one of the side rooms to clear it away. Passing the door to the broom cupboard, she thought about how she had sat in there and listened to Tamaki play the piano, completely unaware that he would become her friend, and she would become involved in the web of the Host Club.

Lost in her thoughts, and unfocused on the real world, a body suddenly collided with her. The tea cups rattled on the tray and almost tipped, if it wasn't for another pair of hands steadying it.

"Watch where you're going, Yuzuki!" She looked up to find Tamaki's light-hearted face.

"Sorry senpai" She replied, and stepped forward to continue to the side room.

"What were you day-dreaming about anyway?" Tamaki face formed a curious expression.

"Er... when I was sat in that cupboard" It came out sounder stranger than Yuzuki had hoped, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few faces turn away, in response to the strange comment. Thankfully, Tamaki didn't find it strange; he simply tipped his head back and laughed.

"Oh yes, why were you sat in there anyway?"

"I was playing hide-and-seek with Riku... and then I was listening to you play."

"Really? How long were you sat there?"

"Er...about half an hour". He laughed again.

"Wow, I'll take that as a compliment for my playing!"

"It was really great" She almost whispered, and then blushed and felt stupid for not being able to describe how she felt. Instead, it was "great". How lame.

She walked away, mentally shouting at herself once again, for not being able to find the right words. She set the tray down carefully on the table, carefully re-arranging the light, porcelain tea cups, then leant on the table and sighed. Something wasn't right with Tamaki. He was too... happy. It was obvious Tamaki was affected by Haruhi's departure, but when constantly surrounded by people, he didn't let it show.

At that moment, Kyoya walked in, carrying another tea tray. He did not glance her way, or even acknowledge her presence. It seemed the start of the conversation was down to Yuzuki.

"Hey senpai"

He looked at her, surprised she was talking to him.

"Hello, Yuzuki-senpai" He put down the tray, and turned away.

"Wait - Kyoya-senpai" Yuzuki blurted. He glanced backwards at her, and she moved closer, so her lowered voice could be heard.

"How is Tamaki-senpai?"

He sighed, which irritated Yuzuki. She was only trying to be nice.

"Do you want to do more meddling?" Yuzuki felt like she had been slapped, and raised her voice.

"Meddling? Tamaki- senpai is my friend! I only want-"

"His friend? Like Haruhi was? After meddling, are you going to leave him too?"

Yuzuki fell silent, realizing why Kyoya seemed so cold-hearted.

"That's why you don't like me isn't it. You don't me to do what she did".

He sighed again, but with less strength this time.

"Don't take it personally" He smiled tepidly. "You can see what it did to the twins, and what it's doing to Tamaki. I don't want them to get hurt again."

Yuzuki was surprised at his kind intentions, and felt guilty for judging him as simply mean.

"What about you?" She asked.

"Excuse me?"

"We're you not sad when she left?"

He shrugged. "A little bit, I suppose. But I wasn't as close to her as the others."

"They'll be alright, you know".

"No, I don't know".

"Time heals all wounds, right? And they've got each other. Besides, me and Riku aren't going anywhere."

"How do you know?"

Yuzuki laughed, and said the same thing she said to Hikaru. "Because we don't play the lottery".

Kyoya smiled. Yuzuki almost felt like rubbing her eyes, to make sure she wasn't seeing things. He actually smiled at her.

"Are you coming, Yuzuki?" Riku burst in on the scene.

"Yeah... see you later Kyoya-senpai".

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow".

As Yuzuki walked out, she felt a strange satisfaction in knowing that something had changed between them.

* * *

><p><em>Ooh, a bit about Kyoya! Please let me know what you think. :)<em>


	15. Perfect

_**Hello!  
><strong>__Thank you very much for reading! Sorry it has been a while!  
>In the reviews, a few people suggested increasing the length of chapters, so here you go! Usually I tried to get 3 pages on word, but this one is six! I will keep trying but hopefully this is better!<br>I can't wait to keep writing the rest of this story. I have a few ideas I am quite excited about!  
>Hope you like the chapter! Please let me know what you think! :)<em>

I love Ouran, but don't own it. Bisco Hatori does  
>(Yuzuki, Riku, Yui and Hina are my OC's. Hope you like reading about them!)<p>

* * *

><p>"I simply <em>cannot<em> believe it!"

Yui's usually high pitched, sugar coated voice was now fiery and rising in volume as she spoke. Frankly, Yuzuki found it quite scary that someone so sweet could have such a ferocious temper.

"I mean, she was the _judge's daughter!_ And she won! That _should not _be allowed. There should be a no-relations rule. Maybe I should write a letter..."

She had been vividly describing the events of an equestrian competition that had taken place that weekend, to Yuzuki and Hina, as they walked across the grounds of Ouran Academy. The sun was glorious, and so they had decided to eat lunch outside.

"I had taken my best horse, and done so much work! I can't believe I lost!" Her mood had drastically shifted from anger to subdue and she stared at the ground and sighed.

Hina wrapped her arm around Yui's shoulders and hugged her.

"Don't worry Yui-chan! You know you would have won if she wasn't the judge's daughter!" She said, smiling.

Yui's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course! I bet that girl is spoilt rotten by her parents!

Yuzuki couldn't help but think that to some, Yui was spoilt rotten too. She did have a stable full of horses, after all, but she didn't voice this opinion. Yui was her friend after all, and no matter how many horses she had, Yuzuki wanted her to be happy.

"You're right, Hina-chan!" Yui smiled and lifted her head. "I would have won otherwise!"

"Absolutely!" Yuzuki joined the conversation and followed Hina's move, by wrapping her arm around Yui, who was stood between them, merging the hug into a trio.

"Hey, let's sit here." Hina suggested.

Their hug broke and they sat on the grass. The canopy of the tree above them created a perfect balance between hot sunlight that managed to get through the leaves, and the cool shade. Yuzuki led on the floor, placing her back behind her head as a pillow. Closing her eyes and letting clean, warm summer air fill her lungs, everything felt perfect. In the background, was the refreshing sound of water trickling from the nearby fountain, and the pleasant chatter of her two best friends. She wiggled of her shoes and let the warmth tickle her toes.

"Hey Yuzuki-chan?"

Yuzuki sat up and opened her eyes, using her hand to shield them from the blinding midday sun.

"You didn't tell me Riku-senpai was your brother!" Yui continued, excited.

"Oh" replied Yuzuki, disheartened. Sometimes it seemed that everything was always about Riku. "I didn't think it mattered."

"What! Of _course_ it matters Yuzuki-chan! You can tell us all about him!"

"Yui-chan, I'm his _sister_. I don't always have the best things to say about him. He's pretty annoying. You only see him when he is being nice, as a host. I see him all the time, even when he is being in idiot. I have to live with him!"

Yuzuki's lecture did not have the desired effect.

"Oh, you're so lucky!" Yui gasped. "Can we come over to your house sometime?"

Yuzuki smiled weakly. "Sure, I guess" she answered, monotonously.

Yui started speaking rapidly about how brilliant it would be to go and see Riku-senpai at his own house, and Yuzuki hurriedly excused herself, making the excuse that a teacher wanted to see her about some work. In reality, she didn't want them to see her cry, and tears were already stinging her eyes. Yui wasn't intentionally being mean, but because of her words, Yuzuki was left feeling inferior and used.

She couldn't shake the feeling out her mind. Her best friend wanted to go to her house... to see her brother. Yui had never wanted to come over to Yuzuki's house before she found out that Riku was her brother, and Yuzuki had never received an invitation to visit Yui's house either.

"_Her house is probably huge... so she can look after all her stupid horses". _Thinking mean thoughts about Yui didn't make her feel any better.

Looking in a mirror in one of the girls' bathrooms, Yuzuki was thankful to discover her tears hadn't spilled over, and there was no trace in her eyes that she was upset. Holding on to the pure white and exquisitely clean ceramic sink, Yuzuki stared at herself in the mirror. Was Riku really so much better than her? Their hair used to be the same shade of brown, but Yuzuki had been to the hairdresser before starting at Ouran Academy, and now had light brown highlights running through it. Studying her face, Yuzuki looked herself in her blue eyes. Surely, she thought, her blue eyes would have outshone the brown of Riku's eyes. Unfortunately, Yuzuki's eyes were a pale shade of grey rather than sky blue, and Riku's eyes, no matter what the colour, were always sparkling.

Yuzuki walked out of the toilets, back into the corridor. Everyone was outside, enjoying the sun, leaving the vast hallways even more spacious and lonely. In a school this big and extravagant, Yuzuki suddenly felt very small and insignificant.

Her footsteps echoed through the empty stretch in front of her, and she kept walking slowly, focusing on the sound of her shoes on the shiny floor. Suddenly, Yuzuki heard a different sound, contrasting with that of her heels. It sounded like a high pitched whimper, or a suppressed cry, and Yuzuki concentrated on finding the source of the noise, grateful for a distraction that detached the thoughts of Riku and Yui from their everlasting presence in her head.

Another small sob erupted from ahead of Yuzuki, and she followed it, slowly. Sitting on a low windowsill, looking out of the window, she found a small child. He could have been it the lower school, but Yuzuki recognized the smart blazer of the High School uniform, and then his identity came to her.

"Hunny-senpai?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to startle him when he was already upset.

At the sound of his name, he turned away from the window. "Huh? ...Oh, Yuzuki-chan!"

His eyes were glistening with tears, which dropped every so often, as he clutched a little pink rabbit tightly to his chest.

"What's wrong?" Yuzuki inquired, trying to speak as softly and kindly as she could. Bending down to his height, she looked him in the eyes, and constantly had to remind herself that he was older than her.

Hunny shut his eyes tight, causing tears to rain down, and shook his head from side to side. "Nothing!"

"Come on, senpai. There's obviously something wrong." Yuzuki got up, and sat next to him on the window sill, heat beating through the glass and warming the back of her neck. Hunny still didn't respond, so Yuzuki continued. "Is it about...Haruhi?"

Hunny squeezed his rabbit even tighter and nodded his head, not daring to speak as his bottom lip was trembling.

"It'll be okay," she told him, "I know you miss her now, but at least you've got all your other friends at the Host Club and Mori-senpai... where is Mori-senpai?"

"Kendo club" He sniffled.

"Well, its okay, I'm here. You're not on your own. Even without Haruhi."

"But everything has _changed_ now!" He cried.

"Not everything..." she said. "The people you know are still the same people, even if they are all upset too. And once they realise they still have each other, they'll be happy again, and maybe change is a good thing. Maybe Haruhi leaving means something else can begin?"

"...Like what?" He seemed to be crying less now.

"Anything!" She smiled. "That's what's so great! You never predicted Haruhi would leave, so you can't predict what will happen after that. Maybe Haruhi leaving has opened doors... maybe great things will happen that couldn't happen if Haruhi was still here. And no matter what, you'll still have the Host Club!"

Hunny wiped his eyes with his hands, and smiled weakly up at Yuzuki. "Maybe you're right".

"And here," she reached for her bag and rummaged inside. "This is for you." His eyes lit up at the scent as she pulled out a little package. Inside all the protective packaging was a little cake, decorated with white butter cream, multi-colour sprinkles and a strawberry on top. Yuzuki had taken it with her to eat after school, in case she got hungry waiting for Riku at the Host Club, but decided that Hunny needed it more.

"...For me?" He asked wondrously, gazing at the cake like you would a beautiful night sky.

"Yes!" She laughed, and held it out.

A beaming smile spread across his face after he had finished, and Yuzuki could hardly believe that this happy face belonged to the same person who a moment ago, was in tears. "Thank you, Yuzuki-chan!"

"You're welcome, senpai" she grinned.

At that moment, a tall figure began walking down the hall. Hunny-senpai jumped of the windowsill, into the figures path. "Takashi! You finished kendo? Yuzuki-chan gave me some cake! It was delicious!"

Mori looked at her, with dark eyes, wondering who exactly she was to them. Whatever the answer, he didn't mind. Hunny was happy, after all.

"Thanks" he nodded at Yuzuki, who looked back, startled and wide-eyed at his unexpected conversation.

"Huh? Oh! -er." She stuttered. "It's no problem!"

"We should probably get to the Host Club now," Hunny smiled. "Right Takashi?"

"Right."

"Are you going to come with us Yuzuki-chan?" Hunny's face shone with excitement.

For once, Yuzuki was beginning to think of accepting the invitation to the famous Host Club. After all, they were all her friends. And even if being friendly was just their job, she would rather speak to them, than her current friends.

But as the thoughts of Yui came flooding back, they were accompanied by reasons not to go the Host Club. Firstly, Riku would be there, and Yuzuki did not feel like watching him be admired by countless members of the opposite gender. The thought of the only person she wanted to see less brought her onto her second reason. Yui would also be there, probably as one of the girls marvelling at Riku.

"Er... not today, Hunny-senpai."

Hunny's face fell in disappointment at her refusal, and Yuzuki felt guilt twisting her stomach.

"I'm sorry senpai, maybe another day?"

"Like tomorrow?" He asked, brightly.

Yuzuki sighed. Maybe her feeling will have weakened by tomorrow, and she would be able to bear it. Besides, Hunny needed a friend right now after having lost one, and since Yuzuki's friend was not who she thought she was, maybe Yuzuki needed another friend too.

"Sure!" She replied, as enthusiastically as she could, and the sickening knot in her stomach loosened as watched Hunny's dazzling face light up like a big light bulb.

"Yay! See you tomorrow Yuzuki-chan! Usa-chan and I will be waiting! We can eat some more cake together! ...Let's go Takashi. Bye-bye Yuzuki-chan!" Hunny waved down the corridor as he left, and a smiling Yuzuki returned the motion.

Once they had turned the corner and could not be heard, Yuzuki sunk back down onto the windowsill and groaned, leaning her head back against the glass of the window.

How could it be that just a moment ago, her life had seemed perfect? In a few minutes everything was suddenly out of balance and messy. Without the sweet and serious presence of Mori and Hunny, the barren corridor's made her feel even more alone. Hearing muted laughs of students outside through the glass was like a distant memory of her and her friends enjoying the sun outside. It was hard to believe that everything had changed in just one hour. The two worlds seemed light years apart.

Hauling her bag onto her shoulder, Yuzuki decided not to feel sorry for herself, but go and do some work in the library. Since everyone was outside, it would most likely be almost silent, and she would be able to focus fully on her work, and take her mind off everything that had happened. For once, Yuzuki was grateful for the release of homework.

"_This must be a pretty low point of life," _Yuzuki thought, while walking through the corridors, staring into space. There was no need to look where she was going in such an empty place. _"When homework is the best part of it". _

"That was a nice thing you just did."

Yuzuki jerked at the sudden voice from an unknown source. She turned around, looking down the way she had come, as the voice had come from behind her.

Tamaki Suoh had been leaning against the wall, hidden from view behind the corner of the corridor. He stepped out, his hands confidently by his side, and Yuzuki felt even more belittled at his flawless beauty and elegant conduct.

Being more shocked about his sudden appearance than his speech, Yuzuki didn't reply.

"What's the matter?" he cocked his head and looked into her eyes. "Stunned by my radiant presence?" he put one hand on his hip and threw his head back, letting his honey blonde hair fall over his closed eyes. A signature king-of-the-host-club move.

Yuzuki tried to laugh casually, but only succeeded in sounding nervous.

"What are you doing here, senpai?" She asked, aiming to sound cool and nonchalant.

"I was looking for Hunny-senpai, since he wasn't at the Host Club. It seems you beat me to it!" He smiled. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but since I didn't want to interrupt, I couldn't help but overhear."

"Oh – it's fine, senpai! I just saw him upset when I was walking through..." she trailed off. If he had been there the entire time, he obviously didn't need a detailed description of what happened.

"Why were you in here anyway?" He started slowly walking forward, narrowing the space between them. Yuzuki tried to stand mirroring his confidence. "I thought most people were outside... Even the Host Club is outside today!"

Yuzuki felt her inside jolt. "Er, uhm, I just wanted some shade..."

He nodded in understanding, but her awkward reply made Yuzuki feel even more sick and embarrassed. But why should he open up to this boy. After seeing how sad he was, Yuzuki knew he wasn't opening up to him either.

After thinking this, Yuzuki looked back into Tamaki's round, blue eyes, noticing how beautiful and clear they were. How must she look to him, with her dim, grey eyes? And what was he hiding behind the beauty? What was he thinking now?

Time passed as they stared at each other for a moment.

"So..." he suddenly broke the gaze, grinning. "I heard you would be visiting us tomorrow?"

Yuzuki's star struck expression flattened. She had forgotten about that.

"Yeah... Well, Hunny-senpai was upset. I didn't want to make him feel worse"

Tamaki frowned slightly. "So you don't want to come of your own accord?"

"It's not that!" She exclaimed. "I think all you guys are really nice, but..."

"...But?"

Yuzuki sighed. How could she phrase her words in the right way? Because the truth was, she did want to go. Not for any lovey-dovey whispers in her ear; instead she wanted to go and talk to them, just so she could talk to someone. But with Riku and Yui there too, it kind of defied the point.

"It's just... a Host Club isn't really my sort of thing".

Again, another stupid excuse.

"Oh." Tamaki looked disappointed, and Yuzuki felt his expression strain her heart. "That's okay, I guess. A few girls here feel the same way. But I guess I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yeah... see you then".

Tamaki turned and walked away, and after watching him walk for a moment, Yuzuki repeated the action and began walking in the opposite direction, wishing desperately that he would turn around and speak to her again.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>_  
><em>So this chapter was more about Yuzuki, hope you enjoyed it! Sorry things are going pretty slow,. (I can't believe this is Chapter 15 and she hasn't even been to the Host Club yet! Not officially anyway :P But things will be speeding up and getting exciting soon!).<br>Please, please, please let me know what you think!  
>Thank you! :)<em>


	16. Visitors

_**Hey! :)  
><strong>After some lovely reviews for the last chapter, I was eager to get this one up and see what you think! Thank you to all the reviewers._  
><em>I know sometimes I leave long gaps between chapters, so here this speed of this one is a little treat for putting up with it!<em>  
><em>I managed to make this chapter longer again! :D <em>  
><em>Hope you enjoy reading and please let me know what you think!<em>

_Bisco Hatori owns Ouran_  
><em>Yuzuki, Riku and Yui are OC's. Hope you like them!<em>

* * *

><p>Yuzuki's shaking hands were on the door handle. Her fingers caressed the polished brass, which had been moulded into twirls and spirals. The door to which they belonged lead to the third music room. She had been here previously today, at lunchtime, doing a similar action and debating whether or not to enter. Eventually she had lost her nerve and returned to the library (she could also make the excuse of homework), and bought herself some more time.<p>

The previous evening, Riku had been at a basketball practice, and so still had no idea how Yuzuki felt. She had also tried to avoid Yui as much as possible (which was difficult as they were in the same class for most subjects) but she could at least deter talking about sensitive topics by asking about her horses (a topic that Yui could babble on about forever). But there was no escaping it now. Hunny, Mori and also Tamaki were expecting her, and would understand her absence at lunchtime, but after school, where she was waiting for Riku anyway, there was no excuse.

Taking a deep breath, Yuzuki gently pushed open her door, with every cell in her body screaming _"why am I doing this?!"_

"For Hunny-senpai" she whispered to herself. "It's for Hunny-senpai."

Nobody noticed her entrance at first, and Yuzuki was incredibly tempted to slip back out the doors. She moved back slightly, overwhelmed by the sight of the club, but was stopped suddenly by a single voice that caught her attention.

"Yuzuki-chan!" Yui called.

Yuzuki turned to look at her and smiled feebly as she spotted Yui sitting on a sofa, very close to Riku. She waved for Yuzuki to come closer. Yuzuki stepped forward precariously.

"Your brother is so charming!" Yui giggled and Yuzuki fought hard to resist the urge to retch. "You should talk about him more!"

"Yuzuki-chan!" Hunny shouted and ran towards her. "Come and sit with us!" He took her hand a dragged her across the room. Yuzuki was grateful for the escape from her awkward conversation with Yui.

He pulled her over to a set of sofas, where Mori and two other girls were sipping cups of tea. They looked up at her presence and greeted her. She sat next to them self-consciously, not knowing how she was supposed to act. Thankfully, Hunny took control. He poured her a cup of tea and held it out to her. Taking the delicate china mug, and holding it with both hands, she scanned the room. Hikaru and Kaoru were sitting with their arms entwined, surrounding by squealing girls; Kyoya was showing a group of girls something on his laptop, and they seemed very intrigued and excited by whatever it was; but Tamaki's crowd of girls was by far the largest. He whispered something into one of their ears, which was followed by a chorus of love struck sighs.

"Yuzuki-chan?" Hunny's voice and the sound of her name brought her back into the conversation.

"Huh?"

"I said would you like some cake" He giggled, presenting the diverse selection on the table before him.

"Er...no thanks, senpai."

"Are you sure? We have chocolate, and strawberry, and lemon, and this one has coffee in _and _chocolate, and there is carrot cake too, but that's my least favourite."

"I'm sure" She smiled back at him. "Which are you going to have?"

"Hmm..." Hunny jumped into action, studying each cake and weighing the benefits against each other. Yuzuki saw the indecision in his face. "Oh, it's so difficult to choose!"

"They do all look nice, don't they" Yuzuki agreed.

"Yes! Help me decide, Yuzuki-chan!"

"How about... this one?" She pointed at a cream cake, which was topped with strawberry jam and chocolate sauce. "Because you get chocolate on it _and _strawberry". She used Hunny's logic of the coffee _and _chocolate cake to decide which she thought would be the best choice for him.

Hunny's face lit up, and he grinned at her. "Of course!" He picked up the cake and bit into it, causing an eruption of cream.

"Mitskuni," Mori said. "You're making a mess".

"But Takashi, this cake is good? Want some?"

The two girls sitting with them squealed in delight at the little drama between Hunny and Mori, but Yuzuki felt out of place witnessing what should be an intimate moment. Instead it was played out for anyone to see.

Yuzuki shuffled awkwardly in her seat, desperately trying to plan an escape route. How could she get out of this?

At that moment, Yuzuki's desire to escape became even greater as she spotted Yui walking towards her.

"So I didn't know you liked the host club?" She said sweetly, batting her eyelids.

"I don't – I mean, I do – I, er, I've never been before" Yuzuki stumbled over her words trying to find the right ones that would express her caution without insulting any of the hosts.

"I know, silly". She giggled, "I would have seen you before!"

"Oh, of course. You're here a lot, right?"

"Yep! I come to talk to your wonderful brother!" Saying this, she turned and waved at Riku, who returned the gesture. "So." Yui's face turned serious, and she sat down, very closely (and somewhat intrusively) to Yuzuki. "When can I come over?"

Yuzuki tried to make her shock of Yui's bluntness, unapparent on her face. Although, Yui was probably used to getting what she wanted, probably without even asking at all. It didn't justify Yui's rudeness, but it explained it.

Again, Yuzuki shuffled awkwardly, not meeting Yui's gaze. "Er... I'm not sure; I'll have to speak to my parents first -"

"Of course" Yui interrupted. "I'll have to speak to mine as well. But you see, I have to attend a party for one of my father's clients on Saturday evening, and I have a horse riding lesson on Sunday. Maybe I could come over on Saturday before the party? You walk home from school, don't you? So it isn't far from here? In that case I'll definitely be able to get a limo there."

Yuzuki's eyes were wide and her mouth open in shock at Yui's unbelievably fast vocals, and at how quickly it had been decided when she was visiting.

"Er, let me go and discuss it with Riku..." Yuzuki told her, standing up, glad to be away from the compressing conversation.

Riku was talking to another girl, and after politely catching his attentions she implied for him that she wanted to speak to him, away from the rest. He excused himself very politely and flirtatiously, promising he'll be back soon, as he was unable to stray from her perfect face for too long.

"What's up?" He asked, impatiently. "I have customers, you know?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, you want to get back to her face," Riku threw her an unimpressed look. "But listen, Yui wants to come over on Saturday!" She lowered her voice and stared right into his eyes, trying to convey to him that she did _not_ want Yui to come over.

"Oh!" His face brightened. "That should be fine right, I mean, she's your friend and a regular guest! It would be a pleasure for her to come over!"

Yuzuki stiffened. _How _could he not have understood? She opened her mouth to disagree, politely, making some sort of excuse, but shut it as Yui skipped towards them.

"What was that? I can come over?" She covered her mouth with her hands in delight and hopped on the spot. "Oh, that's brilliant, senpai, thank you!"

Riku winked. "No problem."

Yui squealed. "See you then Yuzuki" she said, her eyes still on Riku.

Feeling disheartened, Yuzuki had one final plan, wishing hard that it would work.

"Kyoya-senpai..." she asked quietly. Kyoya looked up from shutting down his laptop. "I was wondering... is that allowed?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Are guests allowed to visit the host's houses, out of club time?"

Kyoya smirked and pushed up his glasses.

"Although we do keep some restrictions on the lives of the host's, to keep the club fair and dignified, I have no problem with one of your friends visiting your house."

Yuzuki groaned. "But surely -"

"Yuzuki" he said, placing his laptop carefully in his bag. "I can't control what each host does with their spare time outside of club activities. All the hosts and customers understand the hosts are not allowed girlfriends, and as long as their personal lives do not break that rule, I have no reason to interfere".

"But you know Riku! He could -"

"Yes, I do know Riku". Kyoya was starting to get impatient. "And I trust him."

And with that, Kyoya left, striding over towards Tamaki, and nodding his head to signal something, leaving Yuzuki with no choice but to accept the inevitable. She watched as Tamaki stood and held out his arms.

"Thank you so much, for gracing us with your presence, and although it pains me..." at this part of the speech, Tamaki's expression shifted to that of one in agony, "I must bid you farewell. But please, visit us tomorrow!"

The address finished with applause of "Oh, of course we will!" from the audience, and on their way out, Kyoya handed them order forms for the summer issue of the seasonal photo book. Once every girl had left (including Yui, who departed with a frantic wave and "see you on Saturday!", of which Yuzuki was unaware whether it was directed at herself or her brother), Yuzuki threw herself angrily onto the sofa, sitting with her arms folded and a scowl on her face.

Tamaki noticed her out of the corner of his eye. "What's wrong?" He asked, smirking slightly, which only infuriated "What's wrong?" He asked, smirking slightly, which only infuriated Yuzuki more.

"What's wrong, is my idiot of a brother." She replied matter-of-factly, loud enough for Riku to hear. All the nervousness she felt last time she spoke to Tamaki had been vanquished and replaced by anger. Riku overheard and before Tamaki could reply, Riku reacted defensively. "What have I done?!"

"You let Yui come over!" Yuzuki blurted, throwing out her arms and standing up to confront Riku.

"That's what you're mad about?" He snorted, "That's no big deal".

"Oh really? Then you won't mind entertaining her all day?"

"What? No – she's your friend".

"No, she isn't!" Yuzuki shouted, breathlessly, and upon saying it, noticed Tamaki glance her way. "Couldn't you tell? Why couldn't you just think for a minute?"

"Hey – this isn't my fault! I didn't know!"

"Well, you could have at least asked me if I wanted her to come over!"

"I thought you wanted her to!"

"If I wanted her to, why would I have been so hesitant?"

"I don't know! I thought you were just being shy! What is the problem with her coming over anyway?!"

"It's not that I don't want her to come over, well, it is. But it's because of why she wants to come over!"

"What? She wants to come over because she's your friend."

"No, she doesn't." Yuzuki lowered her voice. "Since I have known her, she has never once expressed a desire to come over... until, she found out that you were my brother." Yuzuki hung her head, feeling ashamed to admit that her friend liked her brother better than her. It wasn't that Yuzuki wanted everyone to like her, and not her brother, but Yui was supposed to be someone that like Yuzuki for who she was, rather than her family.

"What...?" Riku's voice had also lost its anger.

"Don't make me spell it out Riku" she groaned. "She wants to see you, not me."

"Oh...I had no idea" Riku was genuinely surprised.

Yuzuki sat back down and leant into the sofa in defeat. "Well, it should be okay. You seemed pretty pleased for her to come over. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time".

"W-what?" Riku panicked, "You have to be there too!"

"She won't want me there, Riku. She wants to see you."

"But I have no idea how to act!"

"What nonsense!" Tamaki said, striding into the conversation. "You're a host!" Yuzuki had no idea he had been listening. The rest of the hosts had occupied themselves in something else, feeling uncomfortable to be witnessing a private argument.

"Well – yes" Riku stammered. "But this is different! In the club, there are always a few girls, and I am supposed to act like a host. She will be expecting me to act like that all the time! I'm not a host when I'm at home!"

"Don't worry!" Tamaki placed a comforting and supportive hand on Riku's shoulder. "We'll all come! Yuzuki will have some more company, and we can help teach our newest host! Right, gentlemen?" He called out to the rest of the club.

"That's fine by me" Kyoya replied, not looking up from his notebook and similarly the twins agreed without looking up from their game. Honey responded chirpily that he and Mori would look to see his friends on the weekend. Yuzuki was touched by their friendliness. It wasn't much, but in her situation, it was everything.

"That is, if you want us to come over. I'd hate to force it on you." Tamaki winked, knowing how forceful Yui had been.

"Thank you, guys! That's great!" Riku gushed, relieved.

"Yeah, thanks" Yuzuki whispered, unable to keep the smile off her lips.

Due to anticipating, thinking and worrying about Saturday, the next few days past by Yuzuki in a blur. She listened to Yui prattle on about her upcoming visit, and what she was going to wear, and what they would be doing. She seemed slightly disappointed upon learning that Yuzuki and the rest of the club would be there, and that her and Riku wouldn't be alone, which worried Yuzuki slightly. However reminding herself of the 'no-girlfriends' rule kept her mind at ease.

On Friday night, she started to panic. Her parents were fine with friends coming over (her father was at work anyway so it made little difference to him), but Yuzuki couldn't help the growing feeling of anxiety making her feel slightly sick. After making sure the house was relatively tidy, she crawled into bed, and lay awake for 2 hours, conjuring different scenarios of the day that lead before her., until restless sleep finally overcame her. At 6 in the morning she was woken by the sound of her father leaving the house; the clatter of breakfast dishes and keys; and then again at 7:30, her mother woke and Yuzuki heard one of the showers running. An hour later, Yuzuki realised her attempts to sleep were in vain and she climbed out of bed, feeling even more worried now that she was out of the comforting sanctuary of her duvet.

By walking through an empty house, she deduced that Riku was still fast asleep. Since she had such a long amount of time at her disposal, due to getting up early, she decided on having a long shower to pass the time. Even after that, and drying her hair, and choosing what to wear, it was only half 9. The next half hour until the hosts and Yui planned to arrive would drag on ridiculously.

Finally, Yuzuki found that Riku had awoken and was sitting in the kitchen after having had a shower and dressed into pale jeans and a dark green polo shirt, with the buttons undone. He was flicking through a magazine with one hand and shovelling a forkful of bacon, beans and egg into his mouth. That was another thing Riku excelled at. Cooking. Holding a fork to his mouth, he looked up as Yuzuki walked in, and beans fell back onto his plate.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey" Yuzuki replied opening the cupboard for some cereal.

"Yuzuki..." he hesitated. "I'm sorry; I mean I don't know what for because it still isn't my fault, but... what you said about Yui coming over to see me rather than you. I'm sorry, I guess".

Yuzuki smiled, eyes wide, not expecting Riku to ever admit something like that. "Thanks, I mean, you're right, it's not your fault, but - thanks for the thought".

He nodded as Yuzuki pulled up a chair at the solid, old fashioned wooden table and started on her cereal. "Hopefully it will be alright with the other guys here, right?" He tried to cheer her up, and Yuzuki was moved slightly by the intent.

"Mm" she agreed with her mouth full.

While placing her bowl in the sink, the doorbell rang, and Yuzuki and her brother looked at each other immediately, sharing a look. Before one of them could respond, a voice echoed from upstairs.

"Is that your friends?" Their mother called from her office. "Could you get the door anyway?"

"I'll go." Yuzuki told Riku, who was still finished breakfast. She saw him finish quickly, barely swallowing as she walked. _"Please don't be Yui" _She pleaded. _"The hosts, mail, anyone but her". _She wished for a few more minutes of peace and happiness.

She opened the door to a hitch-squeal. "Oh, hi Yuzuki-chan! I was expecting somebody else to open the door. We have maids, you see. Your house is so cute! Can I come in?"

Yuzuki stepped to the side and held out her arm to greet Yui. She strolled in without a moment's hesitation, and Yuzuki noticed a black stretch limo drive away.

"Where's Riku?" She asked.

"Through here." Yuzuki guided her through to the kitchen, where Yuzuki had cleared the table, and was leaning on it, grinning. "Hey Yui" he welcomed, and Yui sighed blissfully. The notion caused Yuzuki to pray desperately for the others to arrive soon.

* * *

><p><em>So what did you think? The speed of this update was because I was motivated by some nice reviews, so I really do appreciate them!<br>Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! :)_


End file.
